Validation of the Chinese expanded euthanasia attitude scale

Abstract

This article reports the validation of the Chinese version of an expanded 31-item Euthanasia Attitude Scale. A 4-stage validation process included a pilot survey of 119 college students and a randomized household survey with 618 adults in Hong Kong. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a 4-factor structure of the scale, which can therefore be used to examine attitudes toward general, active, passive, and non-voluntary euthanasia. The scale considers the role effect in decision-making about euthanasia requests and facilitates cross-cultural comparison of attitudes toward euthanasia. The new Chinese scale is more robust than its Western predecessors conceptually and measurement-wise.