This paper gives prominence to rural children's accounts of their journey to school. Twelve children (male = 6; female = 6) from three different rural villages in Lesotho participated in the study. Individual and focus group interviews were used to generate data, and these were preceded by three participatory research techniques: family drawings,…

Purpose: Chances for a healthy life are not equally distributed across society. Instead, genetic, social, and environmental factors help determine the probability that a child will be healthy and active. We investigate the probability that youth will be physically active by examining 3 consistent correlates of physical activity. The individual and…

A study in two Norwegian villages focused on the local gas station and the Internet cafe as "technospaces" for rural youth cultures--spaces at the intersection of technology and human interaction. The car and the Internet were given different symbolic and utility values in various youth subcultures. Local contexts influenced technology…

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between the participation of rural children in farming activities and selected social, school, and physical environment related variables. Data were collected from four hundred and fifty eight children selected through stage-wise random sampling procedure from the four agricultural zones in Oyo…

Social disorganization is the primary theory by which criminologists account for crime rates. Current versions of social disorganization theory assume that strong networks of social relationship prevent crime and delinquency. A community's capacity to develop and maintain strong systems of social relationship is influenced by residential…

Historical change in occupational and educational status projections of Texas rural Mexican American teenage boys and girls between 1967 and 1973 were examined. The study determined the nature and extent of historical change patterns occurring among these youth in reference to the following dimensions of occupational and educational status…

Interviews and focus groups with rural youth and local policy makers in remote northwest Connemara (Ireland) showed how various social practices and relations encountered in the arenas of education, employment, and housing problematized the choices and opportunities available to young people in transition to adulthood, especially rural youth…

Seven intensive interviews with female college students at Roseworthy College, a rural agricultural college in South Australia, revealed that the college's historic rural masculine tradition and misogynist social environment restrict women to narrow sexual-subject positions: acting like a male; tutor/cleaner/mother/cook; "slut" versus…

A study examined rural Australian student experiences of the transition to high school. Data were gathered from interviews, questionnaires, and student journals of 10 rural students during the last 5 weeks of primary school and during the first three terms of Year 7 in high school. Findings indicate that students had many anxieties related to the…

In contrast to persistent "culture of poverty" explanations, studies of seemingly irrational risk-taking behaviors among West Virginia adolescents found that early pregnancy and dropping out of school were related to lack of economic opportunity and decline of traditional community cultural patterns without acceptable alternatives.…

This paper examines the links between various personal and social risk factors and drug use among youth living in rural communities. Data were collected through self-report surveys administered to 1,656 7th- and 8th-grade students and 1,205 11th- and 12th-grade students in 9 rural communities with populations ranging from 451 to 18,400. Surveys…

A comparative, interpretive analysis of the social organization of contrasting groups of rural youth from New Mexico ad Ohio was approached from an ethnomethodological perspective, relying on direct observation, intensive personal interviews, and key informants to produce a broader understanding of particular youth coping with their social…

An impressionistic, interpretative analysis of information from direct observation, known informants, and interviews provides a picture of the life situation of Spanish American youth living in rural Taos County, New Mexico. Northern Taos County has experienced dramatic social change over the last several decades, altering the traditional,…