ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) — A recent study finds that women who have abortions are seven times more likely to be abused by their partner.

The study – conducted by the Guttmacher Institute and published in the Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care – surveyed nearly 9,500 women who received abortions in 2008.

Dr. Rachel Jones, lead author of the study, reported that seven percent of all patients reported being abused, either physical or mentally, by their partner, and that poor women who have abortions are twice as likely to being exposed to violence that the non-poor.

The study also found that the women who got abortions experience at least one disruptive life event in the 12 months preceding the termination of their pregnancy.

Of the 57 percent who experienced a disruption, 20 percent of women lost their jobs, 16 percent separated from their partner, 14 percent fell behind on their rent or mortgage and 12 percent moved multiple times. The study also found that more than 40 percent of woman who got abortions were poor.

“That poor women were more likely to experience events such as unemployment and breaking up with a partner may be both a cause and a consequence of economic strain,” Jones said in a press release on the institute’s website. “While it might not be possible to prevent these disruptions from occurring, we can help women in these situations by making it easier for them to access and use the most effective contraceptive methods.”

Jones concluded that “many abortion patients make decisions about their pregnancies in the midst of complex life circumstances.”