Broad-based community education strategies implemented in a rural South Carolina county to prevent unintended teen pregnancy showed reductions in pregnancy among teens from 1984-87. The reduced numbers realized a 20-year projected savings of $611,688 in public sector costs. Tables display data for this and comparison counties. (SM)

Finds that youth participating in a delinquency-prevention program (that included a psychoeducational intervention teaching them imagination skills) improved in their ability to be more fluent thinkers, showed better divergent thinking in the area of originality, improved in richness in storytelling, and reported a greater ability to relax and to…

Adolescents (n=414) living with rural Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) families were studied to determine predictors of sexual behavior in blacks and whites. Sex- and age-related differences were noted. The role of family support, welfare, and feelings of frustration were studied along with other variables. (Author/MMU)

The government of Belize promotes ethnicity and nationalism in schools through a curriculum that teaches about the country's ethnic diversity but ignores its many multiethnic/multiracial children. A study of such children in one rural town reveals the irrelevance of the curriculum and shows how the children are constructing their own multiethnic…

Objective: To examine the role of expectancies in adolescent smokeless tobacco (ST) use. Methods: Self-report measures of students' ST expectancies, cigarette and ST use, and peer and family tobacco use were collected from a sample of 978 rural high school students. Results: Student expectancy beliefs significantly predicted ST use and intention…

Violence exposure among rural youths is a significant public health problem, yet little research has been conducted on violence in this setting. This study explored rural youths' direct and indirect experience of violence in the neighborhood, school, and home. The author used hierarchical regression analyses to explore youth violence exposure,…

This annual report highlights a strategic plan focusing on issues that shape the changing future of agriculture and rural communities, and describes 1992 programs. The strategic plan addresses the following priority areas: (1) globalization; (2) environmental issues; (3) new technologies; (4) consumer issues; (5) role of agricultural institutions;…

This study examined patterns of alcohol consumption by students in a rural Texas high school. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted with students, teachers, and parents. Discussions were conducted and taped during a planned "Alcohol Awareness Week." Teacher and parent responses were sought to questions directed at their feelings…

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…

Data collected by personal interviews with a stratified random sample of household heads residing in a 125-county area in the Ozarks found that family income was positively and significantly related to selected educational and occupational status orientations of youth. Except for geographically mobile youth, being born into an upper-rather than a…

Appalachian applicants are wanted for a nationwide program to help capable though disadvantaged students train for legal careers. (Author)

A study was conducted to determine the effect of repeated reading of taped literature on reading achievement of culturally different remedial students in the upper elementary grades. Twenty students were selected using a matched pairs design. The experimental treatment for ten students consisted of reading while listening to the tapes and the…

Youth from rural areas of the country need to learn about themselves, their work opportunities, and careers available to them. The National Rural Career Guidance Communication Network was designed and implemented to provide assistance to teachers, counselors, and administrators desirous of implementing or improving rural career guidance and…

FEDERAL AND STATE LEGISLATION ON CHILD LABOR STANDARDS AND SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ARE DISCUSSED. OFTEN THESE LAWS DO NOT RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCES IN EDUCATIONAL NEEDS BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS. DATA ARE PRESENTED ON THE DEGREE OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND ON THE CAUSE OF YOUTH ENEMPLOYMENT. RURAL YOUTH, BOTH IN THEIR ORIGINAL HOMES AND IN THE CITIES TO…

ALTHOUGH DENTAL PROBLEMS ARE COMMON IN BOTH RURAL AND URBAN AREAS, RURAL CHILDREN SEEM TO HAVE MORE DIFFICULTIES. THE REASONS FOR THIS APPEAR TO BE THAT THERE ARE FEWER DENTISTS PER CAPITA IN RURAL AREAS, AND THAT THE RURAL CHILD IS USUALLY EXPOSED TO A WATER SYSTEM LACKING FLUORIDATION, WHICH IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY OF ADMINISTERING FLUORIDES.…