Effects of early marriage and marriage deferment on educational attainment and occupational achievement of black and white youth were investigated in a longitudinal study of 1,052 rural youth from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. Data were obtained from the larger Southern Youth Study, 1966-72. Within the…

The changes in residence projections (statements of behavior, attitudes, or beliefs about future residence status) of rural East Texas high school sophomores between 1966 and 1972 were examined. Focus was on general trends over the time span as well as those specific to race, sex, and respondent's residence. The analysis involved an…

The effectiveness of a special South Carolina rural youth project was evaluated. Initiated in 1972, the project was designed to improve the quality of life of rural youth from low income families via community clubs for youth between the ages of 9 and 16. In order to measure the attitude changes (aspirations and expectations) of club members, a…

As part of a larger effort to determine marital and procreative trends in the South, an historical comparison was made of two samples of Northeast Alabama high school seniors. Similar questionnaires were group administered to all seniors present on the prescribed contact day in 19 randomly selected high schools in 1966 and again in 1972. The study…

This study reports on levels of achievement among rural black and white Southerners of relatively low socioeconomic status. The 262 persons who were the objects of the study were reared in Millfield, North Carolina. They were first studied by Baughman and Dahlstrom (1968) in the early 1960s when they were in the eighth grade. Ten years later, this…

Composed entirely of statistical tables, this report documents historical change in the residential projections of Northeast Alabama youth. Comparing 1968 data with 1972 data, tabulations are presented by race (black and white), sex, and place of residence (large city, small city, town and village, open country nonfarm and farm) for the following…

Rural youth are a diverse group not only geographically, but socioeconomically, ethnically, and culturally as well. Historically, the rural student has not achieved as well as his urban counterpart in high school or in post secondary education. There is evidence that this is beginning to change and that rural students are doing as well or better…

The specific objective was to study racial differences in the consistency dimension of desired status objects (aspirational frame of reference) and expected objects (anticipated frame of reference) of adolescent males from the rural South. Specific observations were made on (1) racial differences in consistency of aspirational frames of reference…

The study analyzed the race and sex differences in the residential status projections (aspirations and expectations), strength of residential goal deflection and migration performance (incidence, range and community of destination type) of a selected panel of seniors from 20 Louisiana high schools in 1968, with a follow-up in 1972. These schools…

The paper described and compared the attitudes that teenage boys and girls hold of marriage and procreation. Sex comparison was emphasized, because the process of change and its concomitant value and role confusion may be producing conflicting orientations toward future familial roles and spouses' expected roles. Specifically, the study focused on…

Studies on U.S. rural youth indicate current regional and ethnic diversity; limited rural-urban differences; and some limited social change in terms of values, needs, and aspirations. The size of the rural youth population is considerable (25,013,948 out of a total youth population of 93,313,518 in 1970). The majority of rural youth are white…

This report focuses on the education and work experiences of rural youth during the emerging adult years (age 20 to 24), as they make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. It documents how rural emerging adults combine work and school and experience idleness, closely examines their educational attainment, and compares their experiences…

Career and career related preference expressed by a number of rural Southern high school youth were found to moderately predict their early adult behaviors. Preferences for post high school education were the dominant influence and single best predictor of subsequent educational attainment. Moderate linkages were also found to exist between…