Psychological Determinants of Attitude Toward Euthanasia: A Comparative Study of Female Nurses and Female Nonmedical Professionals

Abstract

Moral, legal, and psychological aspects of the legality of euthanasia are subject to debates and studies of various communities. Diagnosing attitudes toward euthanasia should involve not only determining the proportion between its supporters and opponents but also the describing of mechanisms behind the development of particular views. The aim of the present study was to determine the psychological determinants of attitudes, such as fear of death-dying, self-esteem, and mood. The methods consisted of using the following questionnaires: the Głębocka-Gawor Attitudes Toward Euthanasia Inventory, the Ochsmann Fear of Death and Dying Inventory, the Dymkowski Self-Description Scale, the Adamczyk-Glebocka Negative Mood Inventory, and a measure of unconscious fear of death. The study involved 49 female nurses and 43 female nonmedical professionals. The results demonstrate that the attitudes and fear of death-dying did not differentiate the two groups of participants. Although the fear of dying weakened the strength of conservative views, it also reinforced the need for informational and psychological support. A high self-esteem was a predictor of conservative attitudes, while negative mood predicted liberal attitudes. Conservative attitudes were connected to a hidden fear of death and high self-esteem, while liberal attitudes were linked to a conscious fear and a rational vision of the self, the world, and the future.