First Name:
Caleb
Last Name:
Yelton
Major Department:
Psychology
Thesis Director:
Lisa Emery
Date of Thesis:
Dec 2014
Experiencing the death of an immediate family member is often followed by changes in personal values and treatment preferences regarding end-of-life care. This study examines how past death experience alters decision-making and personal treatment preferences in end-of-life scenarios. Data is drawn from the Detroit Area Study: Life and Death Decision-Making (Anspach, 1999) and includes 1109 participants questioned on their treatment preferences for prospective illness scenarios from a variety of decision-making roles. Results suggest that individuals with past death experience are more likely to opt for the removal of life-support systems when the option is presented. Participants were found to be less likely to remove life support when the patient in question was younger compared to an older patient in the same scenario. Possible psychological mechanisms underlying this effect will be discussed. Background includes history of end-of-life decision-making as well as current thought regarding the ability of living wills to accomplish their designed objectives.