Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Assisted suicide: factors affecting public attitudes.

L T Worthen1, D E Yeatts

  • 1University of North Texas, Rt. 2, Box 479A, Big Sandy, TX 75755-9540, USA.

Omega
|February 1, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Public support for assisted suicide is growing. Situational factors, not demographics, significantly influence attitudes, with respondents favoring assistance for those in no pain.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Reducing turnover and improving health care in nursing homes: the potential effects of self-managed work teams.

The Gerontologist·2000
Same author

Self-managed work teams. What are they and how do they work?

Balance (Alexandria, Va.)·1999
Same author

Self-managed work teams: what works?

Clinical laboratory management review : official publication of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association·1997
Same author

A model geriatric health care program for community/migrant health care centers.

Journal of health and human services administration·1995
Same author

Fevers in children.

ASDC journal of dentistry for children·1994
Same author

Service use among low-income minority elderly: strategies for overcoming barriers.

The Gerontologist·1992

Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • Sociology of Health
  • Public Health Policy

Background:

  • Growing public support for assisted suicide contrasts with ethical debates within the medical community.
  • Prior research identified age, gender, experience, and religiosity as potential attitude determinants.
  • The need for a comprehensive examination of factors influencing public opinion on assisted suicide.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the influence of demographic characteristics, ideological factors, and caregiving experiences on attitudes toward assisted suicide.
  • To identify specific situational contexts that shape public support for assisted suicide.
  • To explore the relationship between deeply held beliefs and opposition to physician-assisted suicide.

Main Methods:

  • A sample of 156 Denton, Texas residents was surveyed in March 1998 using random-digit-dialing.
  • Statistical analyses included t-tests for significance and gamma values for association strength.
  • Evaluated demographic, ideological, caregiving, and situational factors against attitudes toward assisted suicide.

Main Results:

  • Age, gender, and caregiving experience did not significantly predict attitudes toward assisted suicide.
  • Situational factors, such as the identity of the assistant (physician vs. family) and the patient's condition (child vs. terminally ill, with or without pain), were highly significant predictors.
  • Respondents showed the strongest support for physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients experiencing no pain.
  • Strong commitment to beliefs that suffering has meaning, life belongs to God, and assisted suicide is murder were negatively associated with support.

Conclusions:

  • Attitudes toward assisted suicide are more strongly influenced by specific situational contexts than by demographic or caregiving factors.
  • Public opinion on assisted suicide is nuanced, with support varying based on the perceived circumstances of the patient and the nature of assistance.
  • Deeply held religious or moral convictions significantly predict opposition to physician-assisted suicide.
Keywords:
Death and EuthanasiaEmpirical Approach

Related Experiment Videos