Abstract

Agriculture work (farming, fishing, and forestry) is one of the most stressful jobs, with one of the highest suicide rates among all major job occupation groups. The stress that farmers face is often out of their control, stemming mainly from weather and financial concerns. This topic has been researched extensively in many countries around the world, however, research and literature are lacking in the United States, and specifically in the state of Kentucky. This study aimed to investigate the stress that Kentucky farmers face, how they cope with that stress, if it impacts their mental health, and how social support mitigates the impact of stress. The present study utilizes a survey and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The main hypothesis was that farmers will face the most stress from financial and weather-related stressors, that this stress will negatively impact their mental health, leading to depression and anxiety, and that those who ranked higher on the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support will report less anxiety and depression caused by stress. The findings of this survey indicated that reports of stress impacting mental health were low and that scores on the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support had no correlation to reports of anxiety and depression. However, it was found that financial and weather-related stressors were the most commonly faced stressors.

Semester/Year of Award

Spring 2025

Mentor

Melinda Moore

Mentor Department Affiliation

Psychology

Access Options

Open Access Thesis

Document Type

Bachelor Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Scholars

Degree Level

Bachelors

Department

Psychology

IRB Approval Number (if applicable)

6199

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