The Gerontologist, Vol 37, Issue 2 192-199, Copyright © 1997 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Attitudes of the critically ill toward prolonging life: the role of social support

EJ Mutran, M Danis, KA Bratton, S Sudha and L Hanson
School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27599- 7400, USA.

Desires to prolong life were investigated in a hospitalized sample of 212 persons over age 50 whose illnesses were severe and who had an average life expectancy of six to twelve months. The importance of social support was emphasized in defining the context in which the stressors of unfinished business and fear of death prompted desires to prolong life. Interactions existed in predicting desires for prolonging life based on ethnicity and whether respondents did or did not have sustained family contact. Family contact and salience increased the desire to live longer for African Americans, but not for Whites.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. L. WERTH Jr., D. BLEVINS, K. L. TOUSSAINT, and M. R. DURHAM The Influence of Cultural Diversity on End-of-life Care and Decisions American Behavioral Scientist, October 1, 2002; 46(2): 204 - 219. [Abstract] [PDF]