Examined personal values and sexual and contraceptive experiences of 75 male and 88 female high school students from a rural county of New York. Results suggested that religiosity was unrelated to students' sexual behavior and use of contraceptives. The different groups of high school students exhibited remarkably homogeneous sexual and…

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)

The suicidal cognitions of 455 rural high school students were assessed as part of a project on risk perception. Over half reported some risk, whereas 12% reported their subjective risk to be quite likely. Findings are discussed in the context of the proposition that religion deters self-destructive impulses. (SLD)

Discusses social belonging as both a health-related goal and an antidote for emotional crises. Examines how social connectedess represents both a content and process variable in Northern Scottish young people's discussion of their health concerns. Analyses reveal both the potency of all these concerns and participants' belief that skills acquired…

Evaluates the impact of 4 career development curricular strategies and emotional/instrumental support in preparing rural adolescents to make successful post-high school transitions. Curriculum strategies and perceived support helped 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students attain critical aspects of career development, enhanced student satisfaction,…

Alcohol use among urban youth has been regularly surveyed, but assessment of rural residents is rare. Information about factors associated with attitudes toward drinking could be especially useful to school counselors. This study used questionnaires to investigate the association of attitudes toward alcohol and alcohol use with the following…

Examines social support and coping in relation to resiliency among a sample of rural, low-income Appalachian African-American and White adolescents. Regression analyses reveal that social support from family and problem-focused, avoidance, and wishful-thinking forms of coping significantly predicted resiliency. Race and gender distinctions were…

Examined relations between parent attitudes, intrinsic value of science, peer support, available activities, and preference for science careers for science-talented rural high school girls. Findings from questionnaires completed by 220 students and their mothers highlight the importance of providing activities and other supports to maintain girls'…

Researchers estimate that more than half of the nation's six million young drinkers have problems with alcohol. Of those young drinkers, some reside in rural communities and towns. Little is known about how teen drinking occurs among rural teens. A pilot study was undertaken to discover how teens in rural settings are involved with drinking.…

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…

Interviews with 20 high school students in rural upstate New York reveal that students perceived the rural community as offering a sense of safety and belonging while taking away personal privacy and fostering prejudices. Adult interactions perceived as important included community support for the school and adolescent activities and interpersonal…

Panel studies examined changes in the educational and occupational aspirations of 191 rural Ohio youth. The 1988 survey questions were similar to those asked in a study conducted 3 years earlier when subjects were 10th and 12th graders. Major findings were: (1) the influence of school personnel on student career and curriculum choices was less…

With the ultimate goal of articulating a research agenda, a November 1999 conference of researchers and educators examined the educational, social, and economic factors affecting rural adolescents' transition to the workforce. The first section of this white paper discusses the need to clarify research questions about adolescence to include a…

This paper examines the unique characteristics of rural adolescents raised on farms. As part of a longitudinal study on rural youth development, semistructured interviews were conducted each year for 4 consecutive years with 87 adolescents from 4 rural high schools in upstate New York. This study focused on data from the 19 adolescents who resided…

In 1990, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was completed by a random sample of 1,448 West Virginia public-school students in grades 9-12. The sample was 51 percent male and 89 percent white. About 71 percent of subjects were aged 15-17; 39 percent were in the ninth grade. The YRBS covered behaviors producing vehicle-related or other injuries,…