Race Differences in Attitudes toward Voluntary Euthanasia: A Pilot Study

这是一项对自愿安乐死和医生协助自杀态度的种族差异的研究。此前的研究发现，黑人比白人更有可能反对安乐死合法化。这项研究将考察文化因素(如宗教信仰和对滥用安乐死的恐惧)和结构性因素(如教育和收入)在多大程度上解释了巨大的差异。这项分析将控制其他理论提出的变量的影响，这些变量也可能解释种族差异。它还将评估不同种族对两种不同形式的自愿安乐死的态度差异：主动安乐死(即医生提供的致命注射)和医生协助自杀(即医生开出的致命药物剂量)。一个黑人焦点小组和一个白人焦点小组将被用来产生和完善调查项目，这些调查项目将被随机抽样调查500名俄亥俄州成年人，包括黑人的超额样本。然后，选定的受访者将参加两个调查后的焦点小组，一个由所有黑人组成，另一个由所有白人组成。从这两个重点小组收集的定性数据将用于证实和探索对定量调查数据的分析结果。该调查还将作为国家一级进一步调查研究的预试项目。这个项目将通过增加对文化和社会结构的作用的评估，扩大我们对道德问题态度上的种族差异的起源的理解，这些道德问题涉及生死决定。此外，该项目将通过深入了解公众舆论与社会运动组织领导人制定问题的过程之间的关系，推动关于社会运动的社会学理论。

This is a study of race-based differentials in attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Previous studies find that Blacks are much more likely than Whites to oppose legalizing euthanasia. This study will examine the extent to which cultural factors (such as religious beliefs and fears about abuses of euthanasia) and structural factors (such as education and income) account for the dramatic difference. The analysis will control for the effects of variables suggested by other theories that also may account for the race difference. It also will assess race differences in attitudes toward two different forms of voluntary euthanasia: active euthanasia (i.e., a lethal injection provided by a physician); and physician-assisted suicide (i.e., a physician-prescribed dose of lethal drugs). One focus group of Blacks and one focus group of Whites will be employed to generate and to refine survey items that will be administered to a random sample of 500 adult Ohioans, including an oversample of Blacks. Selected respondents then will participate in two post-survey focus groups, one consisting of all Blacks, the other consisting of all Whites. The qualitative data gathered from these two focus groups will be used to corroborate and to explore findings from analyses of the quantitative survey data. The survey also will serve as a way of pre-testing items for further survey research at the national level. This project will broaden our understanding of the genesis of race differences in attitudes toward moral issues that involve decisions regarding life and death by adding an assessment of the roles of culture and social structure. In addition, the project will advance sociological theory on social movements by providing insight into the relationship between public opinion and the process through which leaders of social movement organizations frame issues.