Stress, Mental Health, and Risk-Taking: Associations Among a Sample of Agricultural Adolescents

Details

• Personal Author:
  Berg RL ; Rudolphi JM
• Description:
  Farm stress and mental health research has largely focused on adult producers, even though youths live and work on farms. The purpose of this study is to describe the stress and mental health experience of agricultural youths and describe participation in risk-taking behaviors. Farm families in the U.S. were invited to participate in an online survey that inquired about farm economics, stress (ASQ-S), mental health (PHQ-A and SCARED), parenting, social support, and risk-taking behaviors during the summers in 2021 and 2022. This analysis is limited to adolescent respondents (N = 298). Just over 70% of the farm adolescent sample met the criteria for at least mild symptoms of depression (PHQ-A score ≥ 5). Among anxiety disorders, 62.8% of the farm adolescent sample met the criteria for probable panic disorder, and 70.5% met the criteria for probable separation anxiety disorder. Adolescents reported the most stress around future uncertainty and school performance. The stress scores were significantly associated with more symptoms of depression. Over a quarter (27.7%) of the participants reported carrying a weapon at least 1 day in the past month, and 22.5% reported carrying a weapon on school property at least 1 day in the past month. Violence-related risk-taking behaviors were also associated with increased symptoms of depression. The results underscore the need for community- and school-based stress and mental health interventions in rural and agricultural communities. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Agriculture Behavior Farmers Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Suicide
• Keywords:
  Adolescents Author Keywords: Adolescent Depression Mental Health Risk-taking Stress Substance Use Violence
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5 ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  21
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069942
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2024 Jul; 21(7):830
• Contact Point Address:
  Josie M. Rudolphi, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign, IL 60801
• Email:
  josier@illinois.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20080930
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20250929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:37bd1fa67ae7065d15664a65565caa6b29fbe802980f31ec8be9e4b7d8326bc27e03d7e90553a4dfd0b20088fc7cf8208ae70bf1207ff9815c77dfc86806bcb0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208261/cdc_208261_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 349.06 KB ]