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Table 4 Tests of question wording and question order effects for eight questions about AD (Means from MANOVA; SD in parenthesis)

From: Attitudes towards assisted dying are influenced by question wording and order: a survey experiment

Variables

Q1 (PAS for terminal disease)

Q2 (E for terminal disease)

Q3 (AD for chronic disease)

Q4 (AD for mental illness)

Q5 (AD for tiredness of life)

Q6 (pressure on weak groups)

Q7 (palliative care)

Q8 (NTDs)

Total

3.94 (1.32)

3.70 (1.41)

3.25 (1.46)

2.14 (1.28)

2.02 (1.31)

3.27 (1.35)

3.61 (1.23)

4.29 (0.98)

Question wording

Concept-focused

3.78 (1.29)

3.63 (1.40)

2.84 (1.42)

2.02 (1.22)

1.88 (1.22)

3.23 (1.38)

3.66 (1.19)

4.25 (1.00)

Context-focused

4.11*** (1.24)

3.77** (1.40)

3.67*** (1.39)

2.27*** (1.33)

2.16*** (1.38)

3.30 (1.32)

3.56* (1.26)

4.33* (0.95)

Question order

Less controversial first (Q1-Q3)

3.85 (1.33)

3.65 (1.41)

3.03 (1.45)

2.03 (1.21)

1.82 (1.18)

3.17 (1.38)

3.61 (1.22)

4.25 (1.01)

Most controversial first (Q4-Q5)

4.03*** (1.29)

3.75* (1.41)

3.47*** (1.44)

2.26*** (1.34)

2.21*** (1.39)

3.36*** (1.31)

3.61 (1.25)

4.32* (0.95)

  1. Note: Numbers are mean scores on a five-point Likert scale: 1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree (SDs in parenthesis). The MANOVA test of group differences was significant for both question wording (Pillai’s trace = .103; Wilk’s Lambda = .897; Hotelling’s trace = .115; F = 49.2; p-values for all three tests < .000) and for question order (Pillai’s trace = .0.25; Wilk’s Lambda = .975; Hotelling’s trace = .25; F = 10.8; p-values for all three tests < .000). The p-values in the Table were generated from follow-up F-test of mean differences between experimental groups for each question.
  2. *: p < 0.05; **: p < 0.01; ***: p < 0.001. All tests are two-tailed