This study examined whether recent disruptive events would increase the likelihood of high school dropout among both rural and urban youths, and whether the types of disruptive events preceding dropout would be different in rural vs. urban environments. Based on interviews conducted with early school leavers and matched at-risk schoolmates (N =…

The purpose of this study was to examine individual, family, peer, and community risk and protective factors associated with past-30-days alcohol and marijuana use among African-American adolescents living in rural and urban communities. This study used data collected from 907 tenth- and twelfth-grade African-American students who completed the…

Purpose: Addressing substance abuse in rural America requires extending our understanding beyond urban-rural comparisons to how substance abuse varies across rural communities of different sizes. We address this gap by examining substance abuse prevalence across 4 geographic levels, focusing on youth (age 12-17 years) and young adults (age 18-25…

This study measures and evaluates the premarital sexual standards of a sample of adolescents residing in a small Mississippi community. On the basis of their response patterns to a set of Guttman scale items, the students were classified into three standards: abstinence, double standard, and the single standard of permissiveness. A racial…

Responses were sought to the following questions: (1) Are there differences between self concepts of disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged students? (2) Do these differences, if any, occur within and/or among different types of communities? A total of 373 students were selected from Maine communities designated "rural depressed,""rural…

Studied the expectations of teachers and peers for gifted female adolescents using data from 28 teachers and 34 peers (seventh and eighth graders). Results support the idea that gifted females face conflicting societal expectations, with significant differences between the expectations of their teachers and their peers. (SLD)

To evaluate the extent of acceptable responses, 58 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) social studies exercises were administered in 1975 to a random sample of 13 year olds attending schools in north Mississippi communities no larger than 3,500 persons. A multiple matrix sampling technique was used for both the 390 students from…

Compared substance use perceptions and behavior using a sample of 3,009 African American youth. Overall, substance abuse is perceived as a serious problem at school. Early substance use and peer influence are major determinants of later substance use, although important differences exist in the prediction of alcohol and marijuana use. (RJM)

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…

Utilizing data collected from high school sophomores in 1972 and 1973, the study investigated the religious behavior and orientations of rural Black, White, and Mexican American youth in reference to religious affiliation, church participation, religious self-image (perceptions by peers), religious identification as an impediment to social…

Drug abuse and the differences in drug use patterns and related behavior between rural blacks and whites were examined. Questionnaires were administered to 993 (369 black and 624 white) rural adolescents in grades 7-12 in randomly selected schools in Texas. The instrument totaled 15 pages containing 65 items which yielded 178 quantifiable…

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…

Trends in employment in West Germany evolved from analysis of a rural youth survey based on interviews from 1955, 1968, and 1980. Persons surveyed were from 17 to 28 years of age and lived in settlements of 5,000 inhabitants or less. During the time period (1955-1980), the youth employment rate decreased from 74% to 67%. Agricultural jobs…

A study was conducted to determine whether the school and work related attitudes of students enrolled in model programs for training disadvantaged differed significantly from those of their counterparts who had no chance to take part in vocational education programs. Another goal of the study was to compare the affective characteristics of…

Self-concepts of adolescents in Germany, Mexico, Chinese in Taiwan, and the U.S.A. were measured with an Osgood type of semantic differential. The American sample included Anglo, Chicano, and Indian high school seniors. The 11 concepts included: attitudinal measures on the self, school, social milieu and other racial groups. The bipolar adjectives…