The current issue of The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse includes the article, Substance Use Associated with Unintended Pregnancy Outcomes in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

The study indicates that among women who had unintended first pregnancies, those who had abortions were more likely to report, an average of four years later, more frequent
and recent use of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine.

According to the study's lead author, David Reardon of The Elliot Institute, the elevated rates of substance use among women who had abortions might be linked to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and unresolved grief which have been measured in other studies of women with
a history of abortion. "It seems most likely that we are looking at a cluster of interrelated reactions, not a simplistic, isolated, cause and effect reaction," Reardon said.