Revision of paper presented to Midwest Sociological Society (Omaha, Nebraska, April 1968).

Background: Research suggests significant health differences between rural dwelling youth and their urban counterparts with relation to cardiovascular risk factors. This study was conducted to (1) determine relationships between physical activity and markers of metabolic syndrome, and (2) to explore factors relating to physical activity in a…

Time spent in freely chosen leisure activities offers a distinct developmental context that can support positive youth development; however this potential for growth depends in part on adolescent interest and engagement in their free time activities. Research indicates that many adolescents report experiencing boredom, instead of interest, in…

Describes a study designed (1) to develop a parent behavior instrument suitable to the study of rural parents; (2) to study the stability of the behavior of rural parents over a one-year period; and (3) to investigate rural parent behaviors in relation to family and child demographic variables. (CT)

Details the needs identified by parents, youth, and others concerning the role played by rural parents in the career development of young people. Presents findings from a series of focus group interviews. The identified needs reflect potential activities which parents, schools, and others might use to help rural youth. (RJM)

Rural male (N=99) classified in an earlier study as low or high identification males were surveyed five years after graduation. Results indicate statistical differences between groups on occupational status and achievement, educational achievement, and optimism about the future. (Author)

Comparison of 57 rural adolescents choosing agriculture careers with 474 who did not shows that (1) more males than females chose agriculture; (2) parents of students choosing agriculture were less likely to have high school education; (3) students whose fathers worked in service/labor/farming or who had lower socioeconomic status were more likely…

Analysis of data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project establishes that parents' social involvement is a source of social capital for their children. Rural children's connection to a civic culture and their involvement in community groups are encouraged by parental social participation and further enhanced by parents' ties to farming. (Contains…

A sample of 176 Tennessee children and their mothers were studied in 1969 when the children were fifth or sixth graders and again in 1975 when they were eleventh or twelfth graders to determine changes in occupational and educational aspirations and expectations along with possible causes for such changes. Comparison of occupational aspirations…

Early childhood experience is often crucial in establishing the cognitive and affective structures of the child. In particular, the preschool experience of the lower class child establishes patterns of responsive behavior and ways of relating to the authority structure of the school which are not conducive to academic learning and prevent the…

The causal linkage between socioeconomic status, occupational and educational aspiration, and attainment was examined in this attempt to test an existing theoretical model which used socioeconomic status as a major input variable, with significant other influence as a crucial intervening variable between socioeconomic status and aspiration. The…

Males from rural economically deprived school districts, were surveyed a fourth and final time 10 years after high school graduation. Results show over the 10-year period the occupational and educational achievements and aspirations have been significantly higher for the high-identification with their father group than for the low-identification…

One of the most consistent empirical findings in the increasing research on the sociology of sport revealed that white urban male high school athletes manifest higher-level educational orientations than their non-athlete counterparts. This study expanded this empirical literature by assessing the nature of the athletic participation and…

The project was designed to follow up a specific population of young men from 11 rural counties in eastern Kentucky, who at the time of the study in 1960 had been out of the eighth grade for 10 years. The sample consisted of 307 men taken from eighth grade enrollment lists for the school year 1949-50. The purpose of the study was to investigate…