Age and acceptance of euthanasia.

Data on attitudes toward euthanasia from the 1977 NORC General Social Survey are analyzed. Women appear to be less accepting because of their greater religiosity. Less acceptance by nonwhites is associated with their lesser education and greater religiosity, and nonwhites appear additionally skeptical about institutionally-controlled decisions about life and death. Older people are apparently less accepting because lower education and increased religiosity. Among older people, acceptance of euthanasia is also greater among those who are more dissatisfied with their lives and more anomic. Death and euthanasia appear to be distinct attitude objects. Age differences in fear of death reflect aging effects, while age differences in the acceptability of euthanasia reflect cohort effects.