Abstract

This study attempted to identify the main judgment factors involved in decision-making by seeing suicide as a result of deciding whether or not to continue life. For this purpose, this study presents the life and death choice situation through the euthanasia scenario and identifies the relationships among three decision-making variables: past life satisfaction, current pain severity, and prediction of future improvement. In addition, the effects of the three variables on euthanasia choice were examined. Data were collected from 515 adults, who rated Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Scale-Depression (CES-D), Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), and Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and one of four types of euthanasia scenarios. In all scenario types, the prediction of future improvement was strongly correlated with euthanasia choice, and the result of hierarchical regression analysis revealed that future prediction was the most important variable explaining euthanasia choice. The current pain severity was the second most important variable explaining the choice of euthanasia. In all scenarios, past life satisfaction was not a significant predictor of euthanasia choices. The results confirm the importance of predicting the future in deciding whether to continue living, as in the deciding whether to continue the experience. In addition, evaluation of the present is a more important factor than evaluation of past life as a whole in suicide decisions.