Iowa Youth and Families Project
The Iowa Youth and Families Project is an investigation into the consequences of poverty on children and families . Since it is one of the largest long-term studies on this subject, it is also being considered in other countries. The data indicate that children are surprisingly resilient (mentally resilient).
Situation of farmers and their families at the time of the study
An agricultural crisis began in America in the late 1970s. This lasted until 1997. This was worse than any crisis in the industry since the 1930s. Farmers' incomes fell considerably.
Study design
Data collection for the study began in 1989. Scientists Glen Elder and Rand D. Conger drew a random sample of 451 two-parent families with one child in seventh grade. In 1991 a sample of 107 single-parent families was also drawn. 900 grandparents completed the study design. The lives of these children were examined in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994 (the last year of their high school years), 1995, 1997, and most recently in 2000, and the path of life is to be followed in the future. The people were examined with the help of a questionnaire. In addition, video recordings were made and analyzed.
Results of the study
Resilience
Given the poverty of rural Iowa and the lack of opportunities for young people, there were large numbers of young people who did well and lived prosperous lives.
The country house holdings became impoverished for a long time due to the farm crisis and some farming families still had to fear for their economic existence in 2000. Nevertheless, the farmer's children were more successful at school than other children. Problematic behavior was less common among them than among other children. This can be explained by the social resources of farming families and rural communities. These include the collectivist family life of the farming families, social support from relatives, the fact that parents were involved in the church and held offices in school, and the children's social relationships with other children in school.
The subgroup of children from families who had lost their farms for economic reasons were the most frustrated in 1989. They felt that their life was economically tough, felt emotionally stressed, and had ambivalent feelings for their parents. They stated that their relationship with their parents was hypothermic. Six years later, her situation had improved immeasurably.
Family relationships
The children of the impoverished farmers worked together with their parents. They were able to take on responsibility and experience their own skills. Children in particular, who also saw their future as farmers, identified strongly with their parents. However, despite being attached to their parents, they also experienced more autonomy.
Roles and values
They had part-time jobs more often and thus contributed to the family income. Young people with part-time jobs tended to be valued more by their parents. They also saw their children as a source of advice. This role led the children to appreciate their own skills.
Relationships with grandparents
40% of grandparents played an important role in their children's lives. You advised them, guided them and gave them emotional support. Children in contact with their grandparents were more successful at school. Children who were vulnerable mostly had no contact with their grandparents. Some of these were children of single parents, others were children of parents who did not get on well with their own parents. They suffered a cumulative disadvantage.
The relationships of parents to school, church and in the social environment
Farming families are less socially isolated than other families. Her parents often do honorary positions in church and schools. Children with parents in honorary positions tend to be academically, socially and athletically more successful than other children. Farmer's children want to take on responsibility in the community - otherwise a goal that is rarely expressed among young people. This can be explained by their integration into the community and by parental example.
Engagement of children in school, community and church
The commitment of the children is strongly linked to the commitment of the parents. Committed children achieve more than the socio-economic status of their parents suggests. Very rarely do they have problematic behavior and rarely join deviant groups.
analysis
The bond with the land and the farming traditions of families are a source of strength, determination, values and social inclusion for the children of impoverished farmers. This strengthens their resilience and enables them to deal with the agricultural crisis.
Farming families are able to provide their children with non-material resources. This leads to school performance, psychological well-being, social success and avoidance of problematic behaviors.
Quotes on the subject
- These children have a resilience that is really quite remarkable. [...] Young people from farm families often outperform children of professional families academically and in leadership ( Glen Elder )
See also
- Child poverty in industrialized countries
- Childhood and adolescence in the United States
- The unemployed from Marienthal (sociological classic by Marie Jahoda, Paul Felix Lazarsfeld and Hans Zeisel to investigate the consequences of unemployment and poverty)
- Oakland Growth and Berkeley Guidance Studies (long-term child development studies analyzed by Glen Elder on the effects of poverty on child development)
literature
- Glen H. Elder Jr., Rand D. Conger: Children of the land: Adversity and success in Rural America. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2000, ISBN 0-226-20266-6 .