Social support and end-of-life issues for small town Japanese elderly

Abstract Social support for Japanese elderly people living in small towns is the focus of this paper. Specifically, it explores the relationship between selected aspects of self‐reported social support, religion, end‐of‐life issues, and death anxiety. A total of the 1956 men and women responded to a questionnaire including a scale of social support they received in their home. The major findings showed that an increased level of perceived social support is not a predictor of decreased death anxiety but correlated with image of death and coping style of death anxiety, for which those who reported greater support tend to use more human relationships and fewer religious beliefs. Early in the next century 25% of Japan's population will be 65 years of age or older. Elderly Japanese have benefited from the traditional values of family care giving which historically provided great social support. How do these elderly respond to questions about the end of their lives when their reported social support varies?