NC1171: Individual, family, and community factors associated with resilience in diverse, rural, low-income families

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Active

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Need and Importance


 


America needs rural communities. They provide affordable energy, clean drinking water, safe and inexpensive food, and opportunities for recreation (Zwagerman, 2017). Prosperity in rural areas is important to all Americans. Despite this, the population in rural areas is declining (USDA, 2017). Characteristics of rural communities often pose multiple and intersecting challenges to the economic, physical, and mental well-being of rural residents. These characteristics include geographic isolation, lack of economic diversification, sparse resources, inadequate or insufficient healthcare, and limited social services and childcare providers among others (Burton et al., 2013; Mammen & Sano, 2018; Walker & Manoogian, 2011). Rural communities also present fewer educational opportunities and have lower median household income levels than urban areas (Crocket, Carlo, & Temmen, 2016).



Approximately 47 million adults and 13.4 million children live in rural communities in the United States (US Census, 2016). Nearly 20% of these children live in poverty, placing the United States 36th in rankings of rural childhood poverty in developed nations, just below Belarus and above Russia (Save the Children, 2017). Although the median income in rural areas has increased modestly since 2011, growth still lags behind urban areas, with wages in rural areas averaging 25% lower than those in urban areas (USDA, 2017). Mental health has been declining among disadvantaged Americans since the mid-1990s (Goldma, Glei, & Weinstein, 2018), with rural, low-income Americans potentially at greater risk for mental health problems than their urban counterparts (Meit et al., 2014).



Between 2010 and 2016, rural communities as a whole experienced population loss for the first time in recorded history. This decline in population varied by region, with the most loss in areas affected by agriculture (e.g., the Midwest) and reductions in manufacturing industries (e.g., East Coast). The population decline has been attributed to out-migration of young adults, lowered fertility rates, and increased mortality rates in working aged adults (USDA, 2017). Part of this unusual trend in mortality is caused by the high rate of non-prescription opioid addiction in rural areas (Keyes et al., 2014). The combination of population decline, shrinking economies, and increasing mortality rates of working adults produces an overall weakening of the economic and social fabric of rural communities leaving residents vulnerable to other adversities, such as natural and manmade disasters (Frey, 2018). Thus, the accumulation of adverse events and circumstances in rural communities may contribute to further negative outcomes for individuals and families.



Despite their vulnerability, many individuals and families living in rural areas demonstrate the capacity for resilience in the face of a variety of adverse events (Conger & Conger, 2002; Cutter et al., 2016; Orthner, Jones-Sanpei, & Williamson, 2004; Yancura, Barnett, Sano, & Mammen, in press). Resilience is generally defined as “the capacity of a system to adapt successfully to significant challenges that threaten the function, viability, or development of that system” (Masten, 2018, p. 12). In other words, resilient individuals, families, and communities are able to survive, and potentially thrive, through adversity. Interestingly, resilience in rural areas appears to be driven by social capital (Cutter et al., 2016). Social capital (e.g., skills, knowledge, social cohesiveness) has been defined as "the networks, norms, and trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit" (Putnam, 2000, p. 19). In contrast, resilience in urban areas tends to be driven by economic capital (i.e., wealth and income) (Cutter et al., 2016). Although resilience in urban areas has been covered in the research literature, the factors that promote individual, family, and community resilience in rural areas have received less attention (Orthner et al., 2004). It is critical to determine both the unique needs and resources within rural areas, as well as the best mechanisms for supporting rural families in order to increase the likelihood of resilience in rural communities.



Resilience in rural communities aligns with the top priorities of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) with its first strategic goal of assisting “rural communities to create prosperity so they are self-sustaining, re-populating, and economically thriving” (USDA Strategic Plan, 2014). The Research Education and Economics mission area of USDA specifically addresses “rural prosperity” (REE, 2014) and the National Institutes of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) science goal calls for research to foster the “development of human capital and communities” (USDA Strategic Plan 2014). The proposed project to examine the interconnections of individual, family, and community factors linked to rural, low-income families’ resilience is in alignment with the current priorities.


 


Technical Feasibility


 


Data from Rural Families Speak about Health (RFSH, the previous project of this team) focused on child and family health. Quantitative data (e.g., BMI, maternal depression, household food security, child internal and external behaviors, financial stress) collected during Wave 1 (N = 444) were complemented with qualitative data (e.g., changes in health, barriers and enablers to health) collected during Wave 2 (N = 85) to examine individual-, family-, and community-level factors and policies that enhance health. Additionally, case study data (Wave 3 data, N = 23) were collected in order to understand nuanced experiences of rural families in the context of the Affordable Care Act. Utilizing three waves of the previously-collected RFSH data, we aim to examine individual and family resiliency. The proposed project will build upon and update previous data collection to understand resilience in individuals, families, and communities.



Due to the geographic, social, and economic diversity of rural communities, we propose to collect community-level data using a variety of community asset assessment techniques, including windshield or walking tours, key informant/leader interviews, asset mapping, inventories, and analysis of public records and data (Sharpe, Greaney, & Royce, 2000). Information collected at the community level will be later complemented with families’ perceptions of the accessibility and usefulness of community resources. Community-level data will be integrated with other family- and individual-level variables in order to identify and analyze multi-level patterns of and influences on resilience. For example, once data at the community- and family-level have been collected, we will analyze how community capital, such as the infrastructure or youth programs, may influence family resilience in this community.



This multi-state research team has been in existence since 1998 (NC223, NC1011, NC1171) and has a history of using its complementary strengths to develop research questions, design studies, and conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses to produce innovative, multidisciplinary studies. Several team members began their work with the project as graduate students and now are junior, mid-career faculty. The team has spanned distance and time by using technologies to communicate and share data files via a Box site, a website, conference calls, annual on-site meetings, Skype meetings, and recently, Slack team messaging software. Our team updates our governance document annually, and the team uses a tracking tool to facilitate collaboration among team members in developing presentations, policy briefs, manuscripts, and other products. Our governance document encourages and facilitates multi-state collaborations on presentations and documents by requiring new team members and authors from non-data collection states to include at least two members from data collecting sites. For the next phase of this project, we will have working groups comprised of members across states for instrument development, data collection procedures, and data management. Further, our team will continue to have various writing groups of complementary expertise to answer research questions and disseminate our results.



Over the 20 years of our project, the work of this team has produced approximately 100 peer-reviewed publications. In addition, this group has produced an edited peer reviewed book entitled, Rural families and work. Recently, our team showcased research across the twenty years in a Family Science Review special issue on rural families. Our reach has broad impact with more than 150 peer reviewed conference proceedings and presentations at both the national and international levels. Furthermore, students affiliated with the project have produced 10 theses and dissertations, with several more progress. In 2017, members of the NC1171 team received an Innovation in Teaching Award from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities to transform NC1171 case studies into animated vignettes. The aim of this grant was to bring real stories from rural families to life in the undergraduate classroom to educate students about an often overlooked form of family diversity - rurality. These vignettes will be made available to extension agencies. We secured approximately $700,000 for multi-state and $66,000 for individual states to support research and outreach pertaining to NC1171 (current as of 11/27/2018). In addition to these scholarly outputs, the team has provided numerous outreach consultations and educational presentations to rural communities.



Advantages of Working as a Multistate Effort



This project builds upon a longstanding multi-state, multidisciplinary effort consisting of family scientists, family economists, nutritional scientists, social workers, extension specialists, psychologists, and sociologists. The study of many states representing different geographic regions allows for a comparison of different contextual factors, such as access to community resources, and a range of adverse events. Each state is also characterized by a different population profile. Race/ethnicity, culture, and acculturation are all important to understand factors related to family resiliency. This diversity allows researchers, Extension personnel, other educators, and community stakeholders to further understand relevant issues, develop research agendas, and create products (e.g., curricula, programs, policy briefs) that recognize the unique context and diverse needs of rural America. A multistate collaboration also allows the team to address a range of current challenges to and resources for resiliency in low-income rural families. A further and potentially most important aspect of a multistate, integrated project, is the ability of each member to contribute according to expertise. Research faculty from a variety of academic disciplines will be responsible for research design, analysis, and distribution of results to the scholarly community. Extension faculty will be responsible for translating these research results into products for the general public (see below).



This multi-state collaboration is uniquely positioned to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the resilience of low-income families in rural America. Rather than taking a deficit approach, we take a strengths-based approach to understand ways to sustain or build upon existing individual, family, and community strengths (Saleebey, 1996). Practitioners increasingly utilize strengths-based approaches with their clients, but research on the mechanisms or processes by which individuals and families develop these strengths is still limited (Orthner et al., 2004). Furthermore, in order to inform policy and practice, there is a critical need to understand “which system or systems to target, at what levels, and when” to bolster and capitalize on these strengths (Masten & Monn, 2015, p. 16).


 


Impacts of this Work


 


This project will lead to impacts at multiple levels (i.e., individual, family, community, state, and national). Involving project members representing a variety of disciplines and position responsibilities (e.g., teaching, extension/outreach, research) in developing and implementing the dissemination plan will expand the capacity of the land-grant system to educate and train graduate students; enrich the curricula of courses in sociology, economics, human development and family sciences, and nutrition and health; inform Cooperative Extension programming; and further extend expertise of the land grant system to support prosperity in rural America.


Specific outcomes related to this work will correspond with faculty expertise described above. For example, research faculty will be responsible for the distribution of results such as refereed conference presentations and peer-reviewed journals to the scholarly community in their respective academic disciplines (e.g., family science, child development, rural sociology). Extension faculty will be responsible for translating research results for the general public, Potential products include, but are not limited to, policy briefs, educational materials for families, and community workshops.


The return on investment for building resilience at the individual, family, and community levels is high. While there are many variables involved in cost-benefit calculations for evidence-based prevention programs, estimates are that funding such initiatives offers a greater societal savings than the cost of the intervention itself (Peterson, Florence, Thomas, & Klevens, 2017). Working toward such savings may mitigate the $124 billion lost per year due directly and indirectly to adverse childhood experiences (Fang, Brown, Florence, & Mercy, 2012). Some estimates note that a national implementation of an evidence-based prevention program could yield $16 billion in lifetime savings per annual cohort of children (Peterson, Florence, Thomas, & Klevens, 2017). Funding this research and outreach plan will provide much-needed data upon which organizations and communities can obtain funding and resources needed to engage in prevention and intervention efforts.

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