NURSING-STUDENTS ATTITUDES TOWARDS ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA - A STUDY FROM 4 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF NURSING

In 1991/92, 289 students from four different schools of nursing in Nor way participated in a case-related attitudes test. The nursing student s answered questions concerning their personal views on the moral and legal implications of either assisting suicide or performing euthanasi a. They also indicated whether they themselves were willing to perform these acts. The results were compared with responses from a study on students from other faculties in 1988. The findings suggested that nur sing students were significantly (p < 0.0005) more restrictive than th e other students in their attitudes towards voluntary active euthanasi a (VAE). Factors that influenced the nursing students' attitudes towar ds VAE were measured by the index of VAE. Religious belief (p < 0.0001 ), conservative political view (p < 0.01), and the perception of life as meaningful (p < 0.02) were the best predictors of the dependent var iable.