Citation

Weiss GL. Death Stud. 1996; 20(6): 587-599.

Affiliation

Department of Sociology, Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10169708

Abstract

This study describes attitudes of college students about physician-assisted suicide, analyzes key factors that predict attitudes on this issue, and compares these attitudes with those regarding other forms of end-of-life actions. Data were collected via personal interviews with 200 randomly selected students at a 4-year college. A majority of respondents believe that a physician should be able to assist in the suicide of a terminally ill person who requests help, though larger percentages support the withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining technology and the right of a terminally ill person to end his or her own life. Results of multiple regression analysis determine that the key predictors of this attitude are student's level of religiosity (students higher in religiosity are more likely to disapprove) and belief in autonomy as a philosophical principle (students placing more value on autonomy are more likely to approve). Respondent's sex, cumulative grade point average, and amount of exposure to these issues are not significant predictors.

Language: en