Values are a central concept in understanding and predicting human behavior. Value priority differences have been shown to predict important political, social, and economic attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to identify differences and similarities among the value hierarchies of adolescents who have never tried alcohol,…

This study compared beginning work attitudes of learning disabled (LD) workers and nondisabled workers to see if any differences exist in the areas of social, emotional, or work ability. The population was comprised of 30 subjects, all of whom were recent high school graduates who have had some type of work experience. Half of the subjects were…

Alcohol and drug use among youth has been of increased concern to educators, politicians, parents, and students in the past few years. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence and use of alcohol and drugs in the rural region of northern Idaho and eastern Washington state. A questionnaire was designed to collect demographic…

Numerous reviews and studies have documented high levels of substance use and abuse in the United States when compared to other developed nations. Previous research has identified several factors which place adolescents at risk for substance abuse. This study was designed to replicate and validate some of these risk factors with youth from rural…

While more new industrial jobs have been created in rural areas than in metropolitan centers in the last two decades, both white and minority rural workers lag behind their urban counterparts in vocational development. Since this rural labor force is composed mainly of the poor who have little schooling, formal skill training, or on-the-job…

A need existed for instruments to measure status isomorphs for either income or political influence in the process of status attainment. To provide a base on which to build further work, instruments were developed in this project by which to measure youth's aspirations for and their significant others' expectations for the youth's future levels of…

Texas ranks among the top 10 states for school dropouts with an annual dropout rate of about 30%. Some dropout prevention programs are incorporating community service components as a means to counter the alienation and low self-esteem frequently seen among dropouts and at-risk students. Significant adults other than school personnel provide youth…

Results of recent surveys of students, parents, and communities in west-central Minnesota indicate a great desire for vocational education and a perception of vocational education for a job as a basic skill. The rural student needs greater access to vocational programming in order to help break patterns of poverty and open the vision of students…

A programed reading curriculum involving map-graph skill acquisition was evaluated experimentally with 77 rural adolescents. Subjects, who were financially impoverished and three to four years behind national reading norms, were assigned randomly to the reading program alone or to the reading program supplemented by self-instructional exercises…

A survey of health risk behaviors was administered to a representative sample of 7,776 Idaho students in grades 8-12. Respondents were 86% White, 6% Hispanic, 4% American Indian, 3% Asian, and 2% Black. These rural adolescents reported that they had engaged in some health risk behaviors at rates comparable to those of other U.S. adolescents: 57%…

Based in rural northern Orange County (North Carolina), the Adolescents-in-Need Project began in 1981 as a joint effort of the school district, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and community agencies. Project goals focused on preventing untimely events in the lives of teenagers, and included helping adolescents…

One of the largest problems facing rural school counselors is that of confronting the low career expectations that many rural students have by the time they reach high school. The relationship among the fear of success (FOS), self-concept, and career decision making of adolescents was examined in this study. Special attention was given to whether…

Belize (formerly British Honduras) has achieved a good deal of success with its Rural Education and Agriculture Programme (REAP). REAP was initiated in 1976 to create the attitudes and provide the skills necessary for rural youth to make meaningful contributions to the country's agricultural development. Initiated by an intraministerial and…

In 1999, Fairmont State College (West Virginia) received a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant for a 5-year program designed to encourage college aspirations and preparation among disadvantaged rural youth. During the first 2 years, parents and students in nine counties were surveyed to determine their…

Rural youth have been active in the development of the German Democratic Republic's agricultural production program. Although those who reside in rural areas and commute to work in urban areas are also classified as "rural youth," the core of rural youth are those who work in agricultural primary production. Of the 778,639 permanent…