Mental health and beliefs about abortion access following changes to reproductive healthcare laws in 2022: findings from Oklahoma.

INTRODUCTION: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data was conducted to characterize beliefs about abortion access in Oklahoma, measure stress associated with the overturn of Roe vs. Wade (2022), and evaluate the potential relationship between post-Roe stress (PR stress) and mental health. METHODS: From August through September 2022, adult Oklahomans (N = 1793) were surveyed about their sociodemographic characteristics, beliefs about abortion access, frequency of past-month stress related to the overturn of Roe vs. Wade, and mental health. Beliefs about abortion access were characterized overall and within sociodemographic groups. The relationship between PR stress and mental health was evaluated, and inductive thematic analysis of open-ended responses regarding reasons for stress was conducted. RESULTS: Participants identified as predominantly female (54.3%), 23.3% racially minoritized, 7.5% Hispanic, and 11.7% sexual and/or gender minoritized. Regarding socioeconomic status, 30.9% reported having ≤ high school education, and 67.9% reported an annual income < $60,000. Overall, the greatest proportions of participants believed that abortion should be legal with some exceptions (34.5%) or illegal with exceptions (32.8%), while smaller proportions believed that abortion should be legal in all cases (25.0%) or illegal in all cases (7.6%). PR stress was reported by the majority of participants (56.4%) and was associated with screening positive for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2 score > 3) and Major Depressive Disorder (Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-2] score > 3). The most common themes derived from participants' reasons for PR stress included "loss of rights" (36.2%), "concerns about social equity" (13.9%), and "perceiving abortion as healthcare" (11.9%). CONCLUSIONS: A plurality of participants favored having access to abortion. PR stress was common and was associated with mental health concerns.