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Objective: Public policy and opinion support autonomous medical decision-making; however, research on perceptions related to future functioning that may influence health-related decisions is limited. Additional research is needed to understand individual perceptions for engaging in future life-sustaining treatment decisions.

Methods: Perceived time left to live and memory self-efficacy were assessed among 77 adults (M = 74.5 ± 7.18 years) indicating preferences for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and artificial feeding and fluids in hypothetical illness scenarios.

Results: Participants with a more expansive perspective of future time, less perceived change in memory, greater perceived memory capacity, and greater depressive symptomatology and Blacks/African Americans had greater overall desire for treatment.

Conclusion …