The Women Farmer Stress Inventory: Examining Women Farmer Stress in the United States Corn Belt

Details

• Personal Author:
  Davis J ; Nichols CE
• Description:
  Purpose: While women identifying as primary farmers have increased in the United States, there has not been research focused on the antecedents of stress and quality of life among women farmers in particular. This study set out to construct a Women Farmer Stress Inventory (WFSI), test its dimensionality, and assess its criterion-related validity by looking at its relationship with subjective wellbeing as measured by the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). We then examined sociodemographic and farm-level correlates to assess their relationship with stress. Methods: We utilized responses from a random sample of 592 Iowan women farmers who responded to a mailout survey that included the WFSI. We conducted exploratory factor analysis to identify the factorial structure of the WFSI, and used linear regression to evaluate how sociodemographic and farm-level characteristics were related to each factor. Results: The analysis revealed 5 unique factors that reflected different aspects of women farmer stress: time pressures and workload, environmental concern, external stressors from governments and market, interpersonal relationships, and rural amenities. All factors except rural amenities had high levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.80) and were validated using the external criteria of SWLS measures. Young age, being married, and engagement in off-farm work, and smaller farm size were associated with greater levels of stress across most domains. Conclusion: The WFSI is a promising tool that shows high internal consistency and is validated with life satisfaction. Our study also finds certain sociodemographic and farm characteristics associated with different stress domains, which could inform both future research and community-based interventions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Farmers Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Women
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Farm Stress Job Stress Life Satisfaction Mental Health Midwest Quality Of Life Sociodemographic Factors Wellbeing Women's Health
• ISSN:
  0890-765X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  457-466
• Volume:
  40
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069712
• Citation:
  J Rural Health 2024 Summer; 40(3):457-466
• Contact Point Address:
  Carly E. Nichols, Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, University of Iowa, 312 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242
• Email:
  Carly-nichols@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20060901
• Source Full Name:
  The Journal of Rural Health
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:be07a6cf528b3246c17737fa0fbc5af7a6f11bfa9410c2d5b9a724bdb5df788bd25dbd7ba36e17c161f2edb1b0e61a0ed81a5cc1a3282ca18a24fffb78c33351
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208085/cdc_208085_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 312.59 KB ]