Attitudes towards euthanasia among university students: A sample based on Turkish population

Abstract

In Turkey, euthanasia has not become a subject of public debate and concern. This study gives the results of Turkish university students on attitudes to euthanasia. The main aims of the study were: to assess the impact of type of education on attitudes towards euthanasia and to determine the influence of socio-demographics on attitudes of the students towards euthanasia. In total, 878 volunteered undergraduate registered students with the mean age of 21.13±1.92 year from six universities were surveyed. Attitudes of the students towards euthanasia were determined using by a self-completed questionnaire. Response rate was 92.2%. The students were divided into two groups according to education program as follows: Health Science students (HS) and Liberal Arts and Business students (LAB). Two students major groups-Health Science (n = 421) and Liberal Arts and Business (n = 457), were compared. 48.4% of the students were positive to euthanasia. The socio-demographic factors, including mother's education level, family's socio-economic background, religious belief and religiosity were seen to be influenced on attitudes towards euthanasia among the overall students. No significant difference regarding the acceptance of euthanasia between the Health Science majors and the Liberal Arts and Business majors. Mainly, 40% of the Muslim students are opposed to euthanasia, whereas 86.7% of the atheist students are the most in favour of euthanasia. The religion was selected as the most important reason for being negative to euthanasia. The results showed that resistance to euthanasia is apparently associated with demographics and non-scientific reasoning among Turkish undergraduate students.