Of 883 Iowa high school seniors, 60% lived in towns, 40% on farms. Both groups had a high level of congruence between educational and occupational aspirations and perceived minimal barriers to goal achievement. Farm and town students had equally diverse aspirations. (Contains 23 references.) (SK)

This study examined the relationship of psychosocial factors with alcohol use for adolescents residing in rural Iowa. This association was also tested separately for boys and girls. Seventh graders (N = 1673) self-reported alcohol use, peer drinking norms, adult drinking norms, drug refusal assertiveness, drug refusal techniques, life skills,…

Purpose: The purposes of this pilot study were to examine prevalence of depressive symptoms among rural adolescents and identify related social and environmental variables. Methods: A convenience sample of 299 14- to 18-year-old agriculture class students at 5 rural high schools in Kentucky and Iowa completed a survey that included demographic…

Problem: Various demographic and familial risk factors have been linked to runaway behavior. To date, there has not been a systematic investigation of the impact of size of community on runaway behavior. This study will compare runaways from smaller cities and rural areas to their urban counterparts. Methods: A convenience sample of 602…

Based on the rural life experiences of Iowa children who grew up during the great farm crisis of the 1980s, this book focuses on successful adolescent development and its links to the social resources of families with ties to the land. In 1989, the Iowa Youth and Families Project began a panel study of 451 two-parent families in north central…

In Iowa in the 1980s, dreams of prosperity were suddenly replaced by economic nightmares as plummeting land values generated economic decline and dislocation in rural communities and individual lives. This book examines the experience of over 400 Iowa families who lived through the Great Farm Crisis and now face an uncertain future. Interviewed as…