Psychological Distress and Size of Place: The Epidemiology of Rural Economic Stress

Abstract Size-of-place differences in the distribution of psychological distress are examined. Residents in communities of less than 2,500 population are predicted to have higher levels of distress than persons living in farm, rural nonfarm, and larger places. A research instrument was designed to measure economic stress, personal resources, and psychological distress in a survey of adult householders in a midwestern state. Results support the interpretation that long-term demographic and social trends had a negative impact upon the psychological well-being of residents in rural communities. Residents of these rural communities have higher levels of distress than persons living on farms or in towns of up to 9,999 population. Levels of psychological distress are not significantly different between persons living in rural communities and those in small cities or urban centers.     

Awareness and Concern about Large‐Scale Livestock and Poultry: Results from a Statewide Survey of Ohioans*

Abstract The development of large‐scale livestock facilities has become a controversial issue in many regions of the U.S in recent years. In this research, rural‐urban differences in familiarity and concern about large‐scale livestock facilities among Ohioans is examined as well as the relationship of social distance from agriculture and trust in risk managers to concern about large‐scale livestock facilities. Findings from a survey of Ohio residents reveal few differences between rural and urban Ohioans, although country, nonfarm residents were more likely than others to be aware of the issues. Greater trust of farmers was found to be related to lower levels of livestock concern. Environmental concern was strongly related to overall concern about large‐scale livestock development, while perceptions of economic benefits of livestock production were associated with lower overall concern. In general, the findings contribute to improved understanding of the increasingly complex relationship between farming and the social setting within which it occurs.     

Political Beliefs in an Era of Economic Decline: Farmers' Attitudes Toward State Economic Intervention,Trade, and Food Security1

Abstract The effects of the economy on political attitudes is a longstanding sociological issue that is receiving renewed attention in the face of recent U.S. economic downturns. While the impacts of the farm crisis on financial and household well-being of farm operators have been addressed by a number of studies, few have explored its political outcomes. Four perspectives that consider how economic forces translate into political beliefs are outlined, two reflecting objective economic position (class location and financial pressure) and two indicating subjective appraisals (feelings of economic uncertainty and subjective deprivation). Data from a sample of Ohio farm operators for 1987 are used to analyze how the perspectives are related to progressive beliefs about farming, the domestic nonfarm economy, and third-world food production. Indicators of objective economic position and subjective appraisals have relatively limited impact on farmers' political attitudes. Of these indicators, subjective appraisals were more closely related to attitudes. In addition, operators' stances on farm political issues also affect their views on domestic nonfarm and third-world policy agendas. Implications were found for studies of farmers' political attitudes as well as for broader sociological theory regarding the development of progressive attitudes during periods of economic decline.     

The Differing Values of Multigeneration and First‐Generation Farmers: Their Influence on the Structure of Agriculture at the Rural‐Urban Interface

Recognizing the inherent pressures on farm families and farmland, USDA has been developing policies and programs that simultaneously attempt to retain existing farm families on the landscape, recruit new farmers, and create lasting economic opportunities rooted in agriculture. In this article we argue that to date there has been an overemphasis on economic and structural approaches and a systematic discounting of the way individual farmer and farm household motivations can differ as they relate to the farm household life cycle, enterprise growth, adaptation, and reproduction. We use a sociological lens to qualitatively and quantitatively examine the social differences between multigeneration and first‐generation farmers at the rural‐urban interface by exploring how economic and noneconomic values influence succession plans and enterprise structure. We find that the answers to these questions are complex, layered, and not static, as farm households cycle through the life course. We describe how the differences between young and old multigeneration and first‐generation farmers can influence the structure of agriculture at the rural‐urban interface, and conclude with some practical policy recommendations.     

New Voices,Old Beliefs: Forest Environmentalism Among New and Long-Standing Rural Residents1

Abstract In the on-going sociological debate over rural-urban differences, rural conflict over natural resources is often attributed to environmental attitudes of new residents from urban areas. An alternative hypothesis is that new residents provide not new attitudes, but a new voice for attitudes already held by many local residents. Data from a survey of residents of communities near two national forests show little support for the hypothesis that residential status affects forest management attitudes, dissatisfaction, or action. The findings support the “new-voice” thesis and show that it is often a female voice.     

The new rural-urban labor mobility in China: Causes and implications

As the Chinese economy reforms, a huge new floating population of rural-urban migrants is transforming the urban labor force. This article explores some of the most important reasons for the emergence of the floating population in China. We argue that the neoclassical model alone is not adequate to explain the massive rural-urban internal migration underway in China. Instead, ideas drawn from both sociological theories of segmented markets and institutional economics are used to supplement the standard neoclassical explanation. We found that Chinese policy reforms in both rural and urban areas decreased the balkanization of labor markets and opened up employment opportunities for many rural-urban migrants. In rural areas, a set of agricultural market reforms, starting in 1978, increased farm incomes and simultaneously produced a large surplus labor supply. In urban areas, reforms beginning in the 1980s created an effective demand for rural migrants. Of particular importance was the development of a contract labor system and the emergence of a private sector.     

Swept Out: Measuring Rurality and Migration Intentions on the Upper Great Plains

Rural America has long been conceptualized as a place of out‐migration, a process that is the subject of many popular sociological works and remains a dominating narrative that describes rural life in the United States today. Population trends demonstrate this migration pattern for nearly the past century; however, emerging data paint a complex picture of migration behavior and intentions in rural areas. In this article, we utilize several measures of rurality to analyze the results of a 2012 mail survey (n = 2487) that describe the migration intentions of both rural and urban South Dakotans. Our findings show that urban residents are more likely to have intentions to migrate than rural residents, and that drivers of migration intentions appear similar in both urban and rural contexts. The survey also sheds light on the influence of community attachment, community satisfaction, quality of life, and other community strengths and weaknesses that rural and urban residents perceive in their communities. Supporting recent research on rural migration intentions, these results do not suggest high rates of out‐migration in rural areas. We discuss rural America's recent identity as a place of out‐migration, share our survey results, and discuss implications for future rural migration research.     

Metro/Nonmetro Residence,Nonmarital Conception,and Conception Outcomes*

Abstract Two of the most significant changes affecting U.S. society during the 20th century were transformations in family structure and the transition from a nonmetropolitan/farm society to a largely metropolitan society. In this study, classic sociological theory, developed to understand differences between metro and nonmetro society, was employed. Despite contentions that the residence variable is no longer viable, we hypothesized that nonmetro interaction patterns would result in nonmetro residents making more traditional and conservative choices relative to family formation. Analysis of data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth provided support for these contentions. Nonmetropolitan women were significantly more likely than metropolitan women to be married at the time of conception. Further, when comparing women who were not married at conception, nonmetro women were significantly more likely than metro women to get married prior to the birth of the child, and were significantly more likely to have the pregnancy result in a live birth.     

The Effects of Metropolitan Residence on the Off-Farm Earnings of Farm Families in the United States1

Abstract Previous research on the effects of urbanization on farming and farm families has focused on the consequences of urban expansion on farming practice rather than on the well-being of farm families. Proximity to urban areas has been found to alter the way farm families utilize the nonfarm labor market. In this study, the off-farm earnings of husbands and wives in farm families are compared across metropolitan (metro) and nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas using data from the March supplement to the 1989 Current Population Survey. Censored regression models (tobit) and decomposition are used to demonstrate the effects of nonfarm labor market differences on off-farm labor force participation and earnings. The analysis reveals that farm family members, as expected, have significantly higher rates of participation and earnings in metropolitan areas. But this analysis also reveals that increases in off-farm participation are likely to have a larger effect on total off-farm earnings in nonmetropolitan areas than returns to those already working off-farm. The potential for increases in off-farm earnings will be underestimated in nonmetro areas when changes in participation in the off-farm labor market are not taken into account.     

Farmland preservation,development rights and the theory of the growth machine: the views of planners 1

We examine the effectiveness of farmland preservation measures in challenging efforts to convert agricultural land to nonfarm uses in rural/urban fringe areas. Our focus is on programs based on the exchange of development rights in the northeastern United States. We employ theoretical constructs from Logan and Molotch's theory of the urban growth machine. They argue that the commodification of land associated with urbanization is the most important source of wealth and power for land-based elites. Yet, the activities of these elites are sometimes challenged with growth control measures like farmland preservation. To evaluate the effectiveness of these programs to defend farm land-use over purely commercial land exchange for speculative gain, we draw on data from focus group discussions and a survey of planners in metropolitan areas of the region. Our analysis also considers the limitations of such programs in the context of the absence of regional land-use planning. We find that farmland preservation programs based on the exchange of development rights do challenge some aspects of urban growth, but are also the result of those same development dynamics. Thus, they reflect certain class biases associated with the development of rural/urban fringe areas. However, we conclude that these programs could become more effective farmland protection tools with the implementation of comprehensive land-use planning.     

Community Context and Theories of Deviant Behavior: An Examination of Social Learning and Social Bonding Theories

The social learning and social bonding theories of deviant behavior were investigated in four community contexts: farm, rural-nonfarm, suburban, and urban. The mean differences across these contexts on pertinant variables did not form a continuum from rural to urban. Rather, the farm and suburban areas were similar, and the rural-nonfarm and urban areas were more alike than either of the other two contexts. A number of the social bonding variables interacted with community context, but no systematic pattern was observed. Social learning variables did not interact with context. Rather, the different level of these variables appeared to account for the variance in deviant behavior.     

Residential Location and Proximity to Children Among Impaired Elderly Parents1

Abstract The availability of adult children as potential caregivers is particularly critical to the rural elderly because of the dearth of health and human services in rural areas. This paper analyzes proximity to adult children among a large sample of older persons with some degree of functional impairment, employing four residence categories and two indicators of proximity: coresidence with a child, and residence within a half-hour's travel time. Results show that older residents of large cities are most likely to live with children and that large-city and farm residents are more likely than small-city or rural nonfarm residents to live near children. Implications regarding the potential for family caregiving for the impaired elderly are discussed.     

Farm Structure and the Economic Well-Being of Nonmetropolitan Counties

Abstract The Goldschmidt thesis (1947, 1978) maintains that increasing farm size in the United States has undermined the well-being of rural communities. Recent studies have cast doubt on this, however. We analyze data for nonmetropolitan counties in the United States, and also incorporate indicators of the nonfarm economic sector into our analysis so that we can explore the net effect of farm structure on well-being. In addition, we distinguish nonmetropolitan counties by their level of farm dependency. Our study fails to support the Goldschmidt thesis.     

Understanding Sexual Minority Health Disparities in Rural Areas

This article reviews research from several disciplines including sociology, psychology, and public health to examine recent inconsistencies in findings of rural/urban health disparities among sexual minority populations. Previous work has found that sexual minorities (lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals) report worse health than their heterosexual counterparts on many physical and mental health measures. To understand this occurrence, scholars have situated these findings most often within either minority stress or fundamental cause frameworks. These theories attribute health differences to unique stressors and stigmatization experienced by sexual minorities within a heteronormative social climate. This review provides an overview of specific health disparities by gender and sexual orientation, critically examines research on rural/urban health differences among sexual minorities, and offers three avenues for future research to help remedy the inconsistent results of previous rural/urban sexual minority health disparities research. Discussions of the ‘rural effect,’ rural social support resources, and the importance of geographic region for health are included as opportunities to further social scientific research on sexual minority health disparities.     

Agriculture and Rurality: Beginning the “Final Separation”?*

Abstract When is a farm a farm? When is rural rural? Has the issue of the rural‐urban continuum returned? Decades ago rural sociology worked itself into two blind alleys: rural‐urban differences and attempts to define the rural‐urban fringe. Although these conceptual problems eventually were exhausted, recent developments in California raise the possibility of a phoenix‐like revival, although in new form. Three cases—the success of Napa Valley winemaking and the urban crowding that has accompanied it, the explosion of wine grape acreage in neighboring Sonoma County as demand for premium wine grapes has increased dramatically, and an antibody‐manufacturing goat “farm” in Santa Cruz County—have spurred community controversies and are now generating debates over the definition of “agriculture,” whether agriculture is rural, and “When is rural rural?”     

Rural‐Urban Differences in Environmental Concern in Canada

Abstract Distinctions between rural and urban populations are well documented in environmental sociology literature. Rural and urban places may exert different influences on participation in environmentally supportive behavior (ESB) as well as on other forms of environmental concern (EC). The influence of these distinct geographies may be due to present circumstances or because of childhood socialization in these places. Using data from a national survey in Canada (n=51 664), we use cognitive (basic values, environmental worldview, and environmental attitude) and behavioral indicators (public and private sphere) of EC to explore differences among rural and urban populations and we include analyses accounting for place of socialization. We extend the conventional private sphere category of ESB by including stewardship behaviors. Results showed few differences between rural and urban residents on indicators of EC. Rural residents, however, scored higher on altruistic values, placed a higher priority on the environment, and reported higher participation in recycling and stewardship behaviors. Analysis that included place of socialization showed differences on environmental worldview, basic values, and some ESB. In terms of ESB, we conclude that residence and place of socialization may be less of a factor than opportunity and highlight the importance of providing services and facilities. We recommend future research on residence and ESB include a variety of behaviors that reflect opportunities for both rural and urban residents.     

Dairy Farm Survival in a Metropolitan Area: Dutchess County,New York, 1984–19901

Abstract The effect of nonfarm development on dairy farm survival in New York's highly developed lower Hudson Valley is analyzed. The major hypothesis is that significant losses of dairy farms during this period are the result of urban development pressures. Contrary to this hypothesis, however, the bivariate and multivariate analyses of data from a mail survey of all commercial dairy operators in Dutchess County as of 1984 and industry survivors, exiters, and new entrants through 1990 demonstrate that nonfarm development has a negligible effect on dairy farm survival; rather, survival is significantly affected by age of operator and by family disruption. Thus, demographic and family process factors are found to be more powerful determinants of dairy farm survival in this particular metropolitan context.     

Household Saving Behavior and the Influence of Family-Owned Business

This study focused on the lifecycle income objective of business-owning (farm and nonfarm) households. We hypothesized that the complex relationship between household and business management decisions had the potential to challenge predictions from standard household savings theory. Specifically, we tested for differences in saving behavior of these entrepreneurial households relative to the average US household. A limited dependent variable model was performed, keying in on the saving behavior and ability of household respondents in the Survey of Consumer Finances for 2007. The estimation results indicated that, along with standard demographic influences of savings models, households owning a farm or nonfarm business had a significantly higher likelihood of maintaining private saving in a given year. Our results highlight the necessity for future research on household saving behavior to account for the differing objectives and choice sets faced by households that own businesses when conducting analyses of household saving.     

Rural Parentage and Labor Market Disadvantage in a Sub‐Saharan Setting: Sources and Trends

Abstract High unemployment in many developing countries is intensifying job competition and raising concern for the employment prospects of vulnerable groups, including children of rural parents. This paper examines the trends and sources in employment disadvantage associated with rural parentage in Cameroon. In documenting the sources of inequality, the study moves beyond a “consensus versus conflict” dichotomy, and instead uses regression decomposition to estimate the relative contributions of both perspectives. It also uses fixed‐effects methods to examine the importance of unobserved family influences that have been understudied in previous research. In documenting historical change in rural disadvantage, the study distinguishes between long‐term trends and shorter‐term economic fluctuations. Findings show that although rural parentage does not create a disadvantage in off‐farm employment as a whole, it does so within the formal sector. This disadvantage is predominantly due to rural‐urban differences in returns to schooling rather than levels of schooling. Disadvantage in schooling has been declining over time but, interestingly, these gains may stall during prosperous times, as these tend to inordinately benefit urban children.