Moral locus of control in hastened death when faced with irremediable health conditions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Following APA’s call to present research in reader-friendly styles, the objective of this study is to identify characteristics of a unique set of 101 people who chose to hasten their death when faced with irremediable health conditions without support from any state/medical-aid-in-dying programs. The methodology used was to collect information regarding education, spiritual orientation, beliefs in regard to their personal locus of control, their basis for moral decision-making, and belief in an afterlife from a group of people who had decided to hasten their deaths and compare those beliefs and personal traits to the general population and, where available, to people who chose to hasten their death using state supported medical aid in dying programs in the United States. The results showed statistically significant very high levels of education, less traditional religious beliefs, lack of belief in a conscious afterlife, a high feeling of internal locus of control, and a high sense of internal moral authority. This led to the conclusion that these personal and belief factors combine to create the concept of a high internal moral locus of control in this group of people who choose to hasten their death when faced with irremediable health conditions.