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A Profile of Rural Families

A.E. Luloff (1990), in a book entitled American Rural Communities, reminds us that life in large cities is a relatively recent phenomenon, it wasn't until 1920 that more than half of the U.S. population was classified as living in an urban setting. From 1920 on, there was a rapid process of urbanization until the 1970s when there was a brief resurgence of growth in non-metropolitan areas and then the process of urbanization continued into the 1980s and 1990s.

Some referred to the non-metropolitan resurgence of the 1970s as a "renaissance" or "rebirth" of rural areas but others have recognized it for what it probably was: a short-term retreat from the congestion, noise, crime and negative qualities of urban areas; a desire to achieve the American dream through home ownership in suburban areas; and, as a result, a substantive shift toward living in the suburbs while commuting to work in urban areas. Thus, while the process of urbanization slowed in the 1970s, only one out of four people lived in non-metropolitan areas by 1990. This is the population we will be addressing.

What can be said of families living in rural areas today? Have the changes outlined in the previous section occurred in rural areas as well? Or is there something distinctive about rural families and the rural culture? While generalizations are difficult, the following characteristics still seem to hold true for families in rural areas:

Rural areas tend to be less culturally diverse than urban areas. The data on children of color tells the story. While more than one million Hispanic and two million African American children live in non-metropolitan areas, there are proportionally fewer minorities in non-metro areas than in metropolitan areas: 18% vs. 32%, according to Newacheck and McManus (1989).

Families are more likely to experience traditional sex roles in rural areas. Men often view themselves as the strong, independent, silent type, responsible for earning the family income. They may view themselves as failures if they are not able to provide for the family. Women are more likely to be the family caretakers or nurturers. When women work outside the home, it is often out of necessity rather than out of a need for personal fulfillment. The traditional sex roles means there are probably fewer homosexuals or fewer persons who are open about their homosexuality in rural areas.

Children in rural areas are more likely to have both parents present in the home. A number of things could account for this situation: lower divorce rate, more traditional sex roles, the desire to provide for one's own family, lack of alternative partners, and so forth. Whatever the reasons, rural children are less likely to spend time in a single parent family than urban children are.

Bonds with kith and kin may be stronger or more stable since there is less mobility in rural areas. In rural areas, generation after generation of families may live in the same community and one is more likely to turn to friends and neighbors (kith) or family (kin) during difficult times. Since rural families do not always share information readily (they may be more guarded due to pride, independence and lack of anonymity) it may be more accurate to say that social bonds are more stable not necessarily stronger.

Children in rural areas are more likely to be poor than their metropolitan counterparts. The idealistic picture of children growing up in the pristine country is shattered by the reality that 26% of non-metropolitan youth are below the poverty line compared with 19% of metropolitan youth.

Adolescents in rural areas are more likely to become pregnant and give birth than adolescents in metropolitan areas. Again, the myth of rural innocence is shattered by the reality that 16% of adolescent girls in rural areas gave birth compared to 12% of adolescent girls in metropolitan areas.

Substance abuse among rural adolescents continues to be a problem. While marijuana, cocaine and heroin use is lower in rural areas, arrest rates increased dramatically in the 1980s and early 1990s. Alcohol, especially beer, is by far the most widely used drug in rural areas with significantly more rural youth at all grade levels using alcoholic beverages than urban youth.

Increasingly, rural communities are being populated by older people and increasingly, these elderly persons are poor. In large measure, this is a factor of out and in-migration patterns. Often, people with higher education and earning potential move to urban or suburban areas, while people with lower incomes or earning potential stay in rural areas. When in-migration does occur in rural areas, it is often older persons who are seeking a slower pace of life and/or a reduced cost of living.