Rural Sociology Commons^™

Barriers And Bridges: Exploring Factors That Shape Mental Health Service Utilization In Rural America, Margaret Wiwuga

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Despite disproportionately higher suicide mortality rates and comparable prevalence of mental illness across urban and rural communities in the United States, rural populations across the nation experience significantly lower access to and utilization of mental health services, naturally leading to worse comprehensive outcomes. This literature review examines multifaceted factors shaping mental health service use in rural America, taking note of both barrier and enabling factors that impede or enable these unique populations’ willingness and ability to access and use mental health services. Ten articles published prior to September 9, 2025, were selected from the James Madison University Libraries’ Psychology and …

Empowering Rural Voices Through Deliberative Mini-Publics, Elizabeth B. Hinchcliff

The Rural Educator

This conceptual paper explores the tension between valuing and listening to community voices, while also providing a space wherein rural advocates and community members can come together to address difficult issues prevalent within rural schooling, through deliberative mini-publics. A multiplicity of reasons supports deliberative mini-publics, but I explore three in particular, the first being that they provide a space wherein an intentionally diverse set of community voices and perspectives can be shared, listened to, and explored. Second, the goal of any democratically deliberative space is to explore multiple perspectives as part of the process to seek solutions that contribute to …

Exploring The Landscape Of Collective Leadership Practice In Rural Nebraska: A Qualitative Sequential Multimethod Study, Haden Myles Botkin

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rural communities across Nebraska face a myriad of complex challenges that cannot be solved by individual, heroic leaders. As such, collective leadership has begun to emerge in these communities as actors coalesce around local issues. However, little is known about collective leadership practice and development in rural contexts, resulting in a theory-to-practice gap. To that end, this qualitative sequential multimethod study sought to explore how rural community leaders and community development educators perceive, describe, and make meaning of collective leadership practices in rural Nebraska. Three phases comprise this study.

Phase I, the QUAL phase, was guided by the question, How …

Pop Culture In Appalachia: West Virginia Pop Culture Conventions, Heather Lauer

Librarian Research

This creative graduate humanities project explores the development, impact, and challenges of pop culture conventions in West Virginia and the implications on the broader Appalachian region. Through in-depth interviews with organizers of eight regional conventions—including HerdCon, Tsubasacon, Causeacon, and the Mothman Festival— I examined the motivations behind organizing such events, the cultural and logistical hurdles faced, and the personal and communal rewards experienced by those involved. By investigating how these events foster community, promote regional tourism, and provide inclusive spaces for fandoms, the project highlights the importance of pop culture in shaping identity and engagement in rural Appalachia. Special attention …

Developing Leadership Capacity In A Rural, Farm-Dependent Community, Taylor J. Shackelford, Lauren L. Cline, J. Shane Robinson

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The exodus of youth from rural communities after high school graduation is a growing concern to the resiliency and vitality of rural, farm-dependent counties across the United States. These communities suffer from the outmigration of their youth, which leads to a lack of available future leadership capacity. The purpose of the study was to determine the knowledge and skills needed for youth to engage in civic leadership at the local level. In addition, we wanted to support youth with mentors comprised of current adult leaders in the community. Therefore, we also identified the skills needed for adults to mentor youth …

An Evaluation Of Capacity For Cooperative Extension To Implement Evidence-Based Programming In Two Rural Communities, Karen A. Vines, Laura A. Nelson, Sophie Wenzel

Journal of Extension

The implementation process of an evidence-based program related to substance prevention was evaluated in two rural communities. Data included interviews with Extension agents and surveys of community leaders partnering on the program. Challenges to program fidelity were primarily associated with limited human resources in the small, rural communities. Community context must be considered when developing similar programs to determine opportunities for adjustment that will not undermine the success of the program.

Spending Time Socializing In Bars Increases The Risk Of Heavy Drinking, Danielle Rhubart, Jennifer Kowalkowski, Yiping Li

Population Health Research Brief Series

Bars, pubs, and taverns can provide important spaces for creating and maintaining relationships in a community. This is especially true in rural areas where social infrastructure may be limited. However, bars, pubs, and taverns can also facilitate and normalize alcohol misuse – a health behavior linked to numerous poor health outcomes. This brief uses data from the 2022 Rural Health and Engagement Survey to examine relationships between time spent in bars and heavy drinking. The authors show that individuals who spend time in bars are at greater risk of heavy drinking than those who spend no time in bars, and …

Career Counselors Addressing Social Determinants Of Mental Health In Rural Communities, Kaprea F. Johnson, Alexandra Gant-Howrey, Bisola E. Duyile, Lauren B. Robins, Natese Dockery

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Career counselors practicing in rural communities must understand and address social determinants of mental health (SDOMH). This conceptual article details the relationships between SDOMH domains and employment and provides evidence-based recommendations for integrating SDOMH into practice through a rural community health and well-being framework. Description of the adaptation of the framework for career counselors in rural communities, SDOMH assessment strategies and tools, and workflow adjustments are included. Conclusions suggest next steps for practice and research.

Alone On The Range? Rangeland Stakeholder Perceptions Of Public Lands, Community Change And Maintaining Rural Livelihoods, Hailee Rose Nolte

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Ranchers are a part of a rapidly changing rural western American landscape, and they play a special role in protecting and stewarding working landscapes. Rural communities in Eastern Oregon and Northeastern California have deeply rooted identities and economies connected to ranching and a high percentage of federal lands. The aim of this research is to: 1) document how ties to ranching are changing in communities undergoing social and economic change; 2) analyze the relationships and interactions between ranchers and federal management agency representatives; and 3) to identify how ranchers are maintaining their lifestyle under these circumstances. I interviewed representatives of …

Listening To Voices In Appalachia: Gathering Wisdom From The Field About Substance-Abuse Recovery Ecosystems, Bruce Behringer

Journal of Appalachian Health

New qualitative data collected through six regional community-based listening sessions and community meetings are presented that describe elements of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Recovery Ecosystem Model. These data informed the Model, which was used in formulating the new ARC Recovery-to-Work initiative. Input was intentionally solicited from multiple sectors, including persons recovering from substance abuse disorder, treatment and recovery service providers, workforce development agencies, employers, and community advocacy groups.

Responding To Appalachian Voices: Steps In Developing Substance-Use Recovery Ecosystems, Bruce Behringer

Journal of Appalachian Health

A description is presented of the four-step process used by the Appalachian Regional Commission to develop a new Recovery to Work initiative. The Commission identified, defined, and described issues facing individuals who complete substance abuse disorder treatment and who seek reentry into the workforce. Key elements were identified for resources and supports to develop and maintain community-based substance abuse recovery ecosystems. The steps included conceptualization, data collection, analysis, and review to formulate recommendations for program and policy development. The full process of development was accomplished in twelve months.

“I Have A Job... But You Can’T Make A Living”: How County Economic Context Shapes Residents’ Livelihood Strategies, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jessica A. Carson

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This study explores how rural residents’ livelihood strategies are shaped by community economic and population characteristics. We use qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with low-income residents and social service providers (N=85 participants) in two rural New England counties to understand livelihood strategies within rural places. We then employ quantitative data to understand how these strategies are shaped by local historical labor markets and demographic characteristics. Although one county attracts wealthy retirees, with corresponding work opportunities in the service sector, and the other is remote and losing population, low-income workers in both places are struggling to make ends meet. …

"We're All Aging": A Discourse Analysis Of Older Adults Aging Experiences In Humboldt County, Kaitlyn Dawn Boyes

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Age is a ubiquitous concept. One minute we are counting down the days until our birthday and the next minute we are ignoring the fact our birthdays exist. Society’s aging population is rapidly growing and is expected to double nearly double by 2050, this increase in population has led to a shift in treatment and attitudes towards both those who are aging and aging itself. There is currently a gap in the literature on aging experiences coming from those experiencing it; rather those in medical professions often dictate these experiences. To help fill those gaps this thesis explores how older …

Water Poverty In Disadvantaged Communities In California, Alyssa J. Galik

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

California, the eighth largest economy in the world, has nearly one million residents that lack daily access to clean drinking water, yet it recently became the first state in the US to declare water a human right through the passage of 2013 Assembly Bill 685. The majority of water quality violations take place in the rural San Joaquin Valley in unincorporated, low-income communities, which have difficulties accessing clean, drinking water due to issues including quality, affordability, and physical availability. The role of community participation in improving water poverty has been studied extensively in developing countries but its impact is infrequently …

La Vida Es Un Conflicto, Pero Hay Que Llevar Soluciones: La Resolución De Conflicto En Comunidades Rurales De San Ramón Nicaragua A Través De Facilitadores Judiciales Rurales Y Mediación, Marlee Raible

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In rural parts of Nicaragua historically there has not been a lot of access to the justice system. Conflicts have been going unresolved for years leading to a high amount of violence as people take justice into their own hands. The recent implementation of the Rural Judicial Facilitators Program (RJFP) is an effort to provide access to justice directly in rural communities. These facilitators are trained to use mediation as their principal method to resolve conflict.

This study exposes perceptions of mediation and the RJFP from community members, facilitators, and judiciaries. It discusses the key role of the facilitator in …

Food Webs And Food Sovereignty: Research Agenda For Sustainability, Charles A. Francis, Michelle Miller, Molly Anderson, Nancy Creamer, Michelle Wander, Jacob Park, Thomas Green, Brent Mccown

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Future food production will be constrained by the scarcity of fossil fuel and fresh water as well as increasing intensity and unpredictability of weather events and climate changes. The assurance of food security and equity for many consumers is complicated by concentration of ownership of land and other production resources, as well as a global corporate food systems model that is driven by profit at the expense of people and the environment. To assess potential alternatives to the contemporary global food chain, well focused research is needed on local food production and food webs where small- and midscale family farms …

Oligarchy In Farmland? Application Of Community Power Theory To A Rural Setting, Zachary Meadows

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Report On The Agriculture & Nature Based Tourism Study Tour : United States Of America, United Kingdom & Germany, 28th August 99 To 17th September 99, Theo Nabben, Adriana Svenson

Research Reports

The focus of the study tour to United States, United Kingdom and Germany was agricultural and nature based. Six recurring themes were identified on tour as keys to a vibrant economy in the south west of Western Australia. This report is divided into each of these themes and provides an insight into lessons learnt while overseas, and how these might be adapted to Australia. The themes identified were:

• Agri-tourism,
• Marketing
• Restructuring rural Communities - Building on natural resource management
• Land use planning
• Developing improved linkages with higher education
• Leadership

Vermont Revisited, William Jay Smith

New England Journal of Public Policy

Vermont Revisited, William Jay Smith's sweet-bitter memoir of Pownal, Vermont, captures the political and social minutiae of a small, rural New England town in transition which continued to preoccupy itself in almost conspiratorial drama with its own parochial agendas, denying, even if not oblivious of, the changes at its doorstep. Yet Smith's observations of the machinations that were grist for the mill of the small-town intrigues are tinged with a sadness, with an awareness of an old order dying, of old values under siege, of a new order intruding itself — less private, more depriving if perhaps more equitable, and …

Observations On The Future Of South Dakota Agriculture And Rural Communities, Mark Edelman

Economics Staff Paper Series (1969 - 2017)

A short clarification of the current problems facing agriculture and rural communities in South Dakota, the options faced by community leaders, and the policy alternatives faced by national decision-makers in assisting rural communities.