RESEARCH ARTICLE Determinants of Public Attitudes towards Euthanasia in Adults and Physician-Assisted Death in Neonates in Austria: A National Survey

Background Euthanasia remains a controversial topic in both public discourses and legislation. Although some determinants of acceptance of euthanasia and physician-assisted death have been identified in previous studies, there is still a shortage of information whether different forms of euthanasia are supported by the same or different sub-populations and whether authori-tarian personality dispositions are linked to attitudes towards euthanasia. Methods A large, representative face-to-face survey was conducted in Austria in 2014 (n = 1,971). Respondents faced three scenarios of euthanasia and one of physician assisted death dif-fering regarding the level of specificity, voluntariness and subject, requiring either approval or rejection: (1) abstract description of euthanasia, (2) abstract description of physician-as-sisted suicide, (3) the case of euthanasia of a terminally-ill 79-year old cancer patient, and (4) the case of non-voluntary, physician assisted death of a severely disabled or ill neonate. A number of potential determinants for rejection ordered in three categories (socio-demo