All in the Family: Extended Autonomy and Expectations in Surrogate Health Care Decision-Making1

Examined were elderly persons' preferences and expectations for advance directives and surrogate health care decision-making in the event of decisional incapacity. Exploratory findings are presented from in-depth interviews of a sample of men and women aged 67 to 91 (n = 40). The view that elderly people have a strong expectation for familial decision-making in the event of long term care and perceive this reliance as a means of extended autonomy was supported by the findings.