The farm crisis: An analysis of social psychological distress among North Carolina farm operators

Using data from a statewide survey of North Carolina farm operators collected during a period of economic and ecological crisis, the relationships between perceived social psychological distress, social support, and demographic, farm structure, and socioeconomic characteristics were analyzed. Younge...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of community psychology 1989-08, Vol.17 (4), p.423-441
Main Authors: Schulman, Michael D., Armstrong, Paula S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Agricultural Workers' Diseases - psychology
Anxiety - psychology
Depression - psychology
Economic Crises
Farmers
Farming
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
North Carolina
Personality Tests
Psychological Stress
Psychology
Social research
Socioeconomic Factors
Stress
Stress, Psychological - complications
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Summary:Using data from a statewide survey of North Carolina farm operators collected during a period of economic and ecological crisis, the relationships between perceived social psychological distress, social support, and demographic, farm structure, and socioeconomic characteristics were analyzed. Younger operators showed higher distress levels, and age and social support interact so that social support lowered distress levels more for younger than for older operators. Results also showed that total family income has a curvilinear relationship with perceived distress: low and high income farm operators manifest higher levels of distress than middle income operators. By identifying the farm operators that show the highest levels of distress, the results have implications for policy intervention and farm crisis support programs.
ISSN:0091-0562
1573-2770
DOI:10.1007/BF00931171