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Influence of Perceptions of Current and Future Community on Residential Aspirations of Rural Youth
Author(s) -
McLaughlin Diane K.,
Shoff Carla M.,
Demi Mary Ann
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
rural sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1549-0831
pISSN - 0036-0112
DOI - 10.1111/ruso.12044
Subject(s) - recreation , ninth , rural area , perception , economic growth , socioeconomics , geography , sociology , psychology , political science , physics , neuroscience , acoustics , law , economics
Outmigration of youth has concerned rural communities and researchers for several decades. Yet not all communities experience extensive youth outmigration and some youth want to stay in their rural communities as adults. This article examines youth satisfaction with their current community and the importance of characteristics of the community in which they would like to live as an adult for youth preferences to leave or stay in their rural community. The data are for rural ninth‐grade youth in P ennsylvania from the R ural Y outh E ducation P roject. The results suggest that perceptions of available jobs and educational opportunities in both current and future community, parental and friend influences, and the quality of the natural environment and outdoor recreation are important in determining residential aspirations. In particular, identifying a clean natural environment and outdoor recreation as important in the adult community increases the likelihood that rural youth have residential aspirations to stay in their rural community. This research adds to our knowledge about factors important in determining youth residential aspirations by identifying attributes of community beyond jobs and educational opportunities that youth find attractive as they consider places to live as adults.