The acceptability of induced abortion, death penalty and passive euthanasia among young adults: the analysis of the University of Zagreb students' attitudes

Trbojević, Filip. (2017). The acceptability of induced abortion, death penalty and passive euthanasia among young adults: the analysis of the University of Zagreb students' attitudes. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Sociology. [mentor Nikodem, Krunoslav].

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Abstract

Conceptually, methodologically and empirically, the presented study offers insight into the issue and interrelationship of three bioethical phenomena (issues) – induced abortion, death penalty and passive euthanasia, which represents a novelty in Croatian sociological literature. Using a conceptually based and comprehensive set of predictor variables as well as reliable criterion measurement instruments (an attitude scale measuring attitudes on induced abortion, death penalty and passive euthanasia), we achieved all the goals set in the study – we ascertained the University of Zagreb students' attitudes on the acceptability of the three aforementioned bioethical issues with regard to the students' political attitudes, the locus of control and individual characteristics, and in addition to the aforesaid, we ascertained that these attitudes were positively correlated (the attitudes on induced abortion and passive euthanasia were highly correlated while those on death penalty and induced abortion, that is passive euthanasia, were moderately correlated). Using multiple binary logistic regression, we ascertained that the predictors which increased the possibility of students' accepting a particular bioethical issue were quite diverse, while those which most reduced that possibility were connected to religiosity, which was expressed as two-dimensional – the public dimension was measured through the degree of the students' clerical political attitudes, while the private dimension was measured through the degree of their religious practice and the practice of ascribing certain events in life to an external influence, i.e. believing that they were controlled by God. The results of this study largely confirm the author's conceptual premises, as well as those of many other authors and previous studies. The study was conducted by using the online survey method on a convenience sample of 850 students at various faculties of the University of Zagreb.

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