American opinion on spanking has shifted. Most Americans agreed with the necessity of sometimes spanking children, but proportions disagreeing increased 15 percentage point (94% overall) between 1986 (16%) and 2010 (31%). Growing proportions disagreed with spanking in each consecutive decade for all significant generational cohorts, with the…

Context: Research is limited regarding the potential of genetic testing for cancer risk in rural Appalachia. Purpose: This study examined perceptions of genetic testing in a population sample of Kentuckians, with a focus on Appalachian and rural differences. The goals were to examine cultural and psychosocial factors that may predict intentions to…

Sixteen questions dealing with racial equality, abortion, and civil liberties were extracted from the National Opinion Research Center's General Social Surveys of 1972 (N=986) and 1980 (N=1,128) to seek a possible cultural component of rurality and note any changing contours to such a phenomenon over time and across social strata. Rural…

Rural people consistently support environmental protection less than urban people. Four hypotheses tested reasons for this using 1973-1978 General Social Survey data. Socialization in metropolitan areas which leads to favorable consideration of social solutions to environmental problems received the most support, but nothing explained much of the…

This report examines the extent and process by which rural origins may affect socioeconomic attainments in adulthood and how these "costs" have changed during this century. Introductory sections review research and theories of rural differentiation and stratification and the history of major federal policy initiatives for rural…