Rural Childhoods Research Articles

Everyday reality of children in rural Catalonia (Spain): experiences and emotions

ABSTRACT The pandemic has been the catalyst for many families with young children to leave the urban environment and settle in rural areas, attracted by discourses that are in tune with the imported and classic ‘ideal of rural childhood’: natural environment, freedom, autonomy, mutual help, peace and quiet. However, we do not know to what extent this ideal construction of childhood in rural areas corresponds nowadays to the everyday reality of children. In this article we analyse the daily experiences and emotions of children in rural areas of Catalonia (Spain). By applying a qualitative methodology that allows children to express themselves, we provide a critical reading of the current rural areas based on children’s lived experiences. The use of the relief map as a methodological tool makes possible to graphically capture children’s emotions related to places. The research fills a gap on the current rural childhood experiences in non-Anglo-Saxon contexts, places the concept of the rural ideal in the Catalan environment and provides insight into the diversity of rural childhoods based on children’s experiences and emotions.

A criança na constituição cultural, sociopolítica e educativa dos assentamentos de reforma agrária: negações e conquistas

ABSTRACT If childhood cannot be thought of as confined to the chronological dimension, even more so, rural childhood cannot be conceived in a reduced form. Children in settlements grow up surrounded by the uncertainty of land ownership, are educated in struggle, and learn early on that collective organization is a path to victory and, at the same time, a means of resistance. The aim of this study was to analyze, through oral narratives, the processes of constitution of rural childhoods, in a school in the Agrarian Reform settlement, in Santaluz, BA. Visual ethnography was the methodology that guided the investigation, allowing for the varied use of techniques to construct the analyses. We also chose an interactive activity, named Poteca, which initiates oral narratives from children, families, and teachers. From the theoretical-conceptual movement, we broaden our perspective on the constitution of children in social, educational, cultural, and political realms. It is also necessary to understand that the context of daily struggle against prejudice and criminalization creates a dynamic of production and self-production in which these children establish themselves, experience their childhoods, and affirm themselves as a culturally organized and productive collective. These perceptions were based on the stories narrated during the investigation, through the interactions provided by Poteca. Oral experiences, once they are recorded, systematized, and analyzed, can support pedagogical practices and the development of curricula that take into account the conceptions, knowledge, cultures, and values that originate from social movements.

Rural childhood residence, college education, and late‐life brain health

AbstractBackgroundRural communities tend to have higher prevalence of dementia risk factors including cardiovascular diseases and low education. Childhood rural residence has also been associated with worse late life cognition.1 It is unknown if these associations extend to neuroimaging markers of late life brain health.MethodKHANDLE and STAR are harmonized cohorts of racially/ethnically diverse long‐term Kaiser Permanente Northern California members. Regional brain volumes and white matter integrity were measured among a 25% random sample using 3T MRI. Stabilized inverse probability weights were estimated to account for imaging selection based on study, race/ethnicity, baseline age, sex/gender, and geographic region of birth. Rural residence was self‐reported using birth address or imputed from addresses at age 5 (n = 8) or age 10 (n = 1) when missing. MRI measures, except free water fraction and fractional anisotropy, were normalized on intracranial volume. All MRI measures were z standardized. Weighted general linear models tested associations between childhood rurality and MRI measures among those ages 65+. Exploratory models stratified analyses by college degree attainment.ResultCompared to the overall cohort, the imaging sample was slightly younger, had slightly higher educational attainment and was comprised of more males. Imaging participants with a rural childhood were about 1 year older (mean = 76, SD 6.0) and had about ½ year less education (mean = 14.5, SD = 2.4) than the imaging sample overall (Table 1). In weighted linear models (Table 2), childhood rurality was associated with smaller occipital cortex volumes (β = ‐0.25 95% CI = ‐0.50, ‐0.004). In models stratified by education, we observed a non‐significant trend of worse brain health among participants who were college‐educated with rural childhoods (vs. college educated without rural childhoods), that was not present among those without a college degree (Table 3).ConclusionWe observed limited effect of childhood rurality on MRI markers of brain health. Although under‐powered, our analyses suggest that among college educated older adults rural childhoods (vs. non‐rural) may have a negative impact on brain health.Reference:1. Peterson, et. al., (In press: 2023). Rural residence across the lifecourse and late‐life cognitive decline in KHANDLE: A causal inference study. Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12399

The effects of environmental factors associated with childhood urbanicity on brain structure and cognition.

Urbanization is a trend lasting for more than one century worldwide. Four hundred ninety male and female adult Chinese Han participants with different urban and rural childhoods were included in this study. Early-life urban environment was found benefit for total grey matter volume (GMV), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) GMV, temporal pole (TP) GMV and cognition function, and negatively correlated with medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) GMV. Regression analysis showed that maternal education was a protective factor for total and DLPFC GMVs, while having siblings was better for MPFC GMV. Total, DLPFC and TP GMVs acts mediation effects between childhood urbanicity and different cognitive domains. These findings may suggest some pros and cons on brain structure associated with childhood urbanicity and related environmental factors.

Childhood urbanicity interacts with polygenic risk for depression to affect stress-related medial prefrontal function

Urbanization is increasing globally, and is associated with stress and increased mental health risks, including for depression. However, it remains unclear, especially at the level of brain function, how urbanicity, social threat stressors, and psychiatric risk may be linked. Here, we aim to define the structural and functional MRI neural correlates of social stress, childhood urbanicity, and their putative mechanistic relevance to depressive illness risk, in terms of behavioral traits and genetics. We studied a sample of healthy adults with divergent urban and rural childhoods. We examined childhood urbanicity effects on brain structure as suggested by MRI, and its functional relevance to depression risk, through interactions between urbanicity and trait anxiety-depression, as well as between urbanicity and polygenic risk for depression, during stress-related medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) engagement. Subjects with divergent rural and urban childhoods were similar in adult socioeconomic status and were genetically homogeneous. Urban childhood was associated with relatively reduced mPFC gray matter volumes as suggested by MRI. MPFC engagement under social status threat correlated with the higher trait anxiety-depression in subjects with urban childhoods, but not in their rural counterparts, implicating an exaggerated physiological response to the threat context with urbanicity, in association with behavioral risk for depression. Stress-associated mPFC engagement also interacted with polygenic risk for depression, significantly predicting a differential mPFC response in individuals with urban but not rural childhoods. Developmental urbanicity, therefore, appears to interact with genetic and behavioral risk for depression on the mPFC neural response to a threat context.

O58. Childhood Urbanization Affects Prefrontal Cortical Responses to Trait Anxiety and Interacts With Polygenic Risk for Depression

Abstract Global increases in urbanization have brought dramatic economic, environmental and social changes. However, less is understood about how these may influence disease-related brain mechanisms underlying epidemiological observations that urban birth and childhoods may increase the risk for neuropsychiatric disorders, including increased social stress and depression. In a genetically homogeneous Han Chinese adult population with divergent urban and rural birth and childhoods, we examined the structural and functional MRI neural correlates of childhood urbanicity, focusing on behavioral traits responding to social status threats, and polygenic risk for depression. Subjects with divergent rural and urban childhoods were similar in adult socioeconomic status and were genetically homogeneous. Urban childhoods, however, were associated with higher trait anxiety-depression. On structural MRI, urban childhoods were associated with relatively reduced medial prefrontal gray matter volumes. Functional medial prefrontal engagement under social status threat during working memory correlated with trait anxiety-depression in subjects with urban childhoods, to a significantly greater extent than in their rural counterparts, implicating an exaggerated physiological response to the threat context. Stress-associated medial prefrontal engagement also interacted with polygenic risk for depression, significantly predicting a differential response in individuals with urban but not rural childhoods. Developmental urbanicity thus differentially influenced medial prefrontal structure and function, at least in part through mechanisms associated with the neural processing of social status threat, trait anxiety, and genetic risk for depression, which may be factors in the association of urbanicity with adult psychopathology. Significance Statement Urban living has been associated with social inequalities and stress. However, less is understood about the neural underpinnings by which these stressors affect disease risk, and in particular, genetic risk for depression. Leveraging urbanization in China, we studied adults with diverse urban and rural upbringings, who were genetically homogeneous and with similar current socioeconomic status, to isolate the effects of childhood urbanicity. At medial prefrontal cortex, a region critical for processing emotional stressors and social status, genetic risk for depression resulted in more deleterious function under stress in individuals with urban, but not rural childhoods. This implicates medial prefrontal cortex’s critical role in brain development, integrating genetic mechanisms of stress and depression with the childhood environment.

Preferences for urban stream landscapes: Opportunities to promote unmanaged riparian vegetation

Many streams are channelized and their banks hardened, with the native riparian vegetation either removed or replaced with planted vegetation. Compared with original vegetation, however, this managed vegetation is typically limited in its ecological value while also requiring human and environmental resources to maintain it. This is especially true in urban contexts. A key question is, how to reverse this? Here, we used photo surveys conducted in 2017 to explore the preferences of non-experts (n = 409) and students (n = 212) for urban stream landscapes in Harbin, China, and to reveal associations between aesthetic and perceived ecological values. Our results revealed that participants preferred a balance between wild nature and human control in stream landscapes. Urban stream landscapes with concrete banks and abundant upland vegetation were attractive to both groups. Partially vegetated hardened banks, with a hardscape area of the bank slope exposed, were disliked and received low ratings on perceived ecological values when compared with a concrete bank or wild stream banks. Non-experts with rural childhoods gave significantly higher scores for a wild bank setting (i.e., stream bank fully covered by vegetation), as well as significantly lower ecology scores to a lifeless bank (i.e., concrete bank lacking shoreline vegetation), than did those raised in large or small cities. Visual elements, such as upland mature trees and well-arranged boulders in the channel zone, could potentially enhance the attractiveness of urban stream landscapes.

Rural and urban childhood environment effects on episodic memory

IntroductionChildhoods in urban or rural environments may differentially affect risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we leveraged on dramatic urbanization and rural-urban migration since the 1980s in China to explore the hypothesis that rural or urban childhoods may differentially influence memory processing and neural responses to neutral and aversive stimuli.ObjectivesExplore the underlying mechanisms of childhood environment effect on brain function and neuropsychiatric risk.MethodsWe examined 420 adult subjects with similar current socioeconomic status and living in Beijing, China, but with differing rural (n = 227) or urban (n = 193) childhoods. In an episodic memory paradigm scanned in a 3 T GE MRI, subjects viewed blocks of neutral or aversive pictures in the encoding and retrieval sessions.ResultsEpisodic memory accuracy for neutral stimuli was less than for aversive stimuli (P < 0.001). However, subjects with rural childhoods apparently performed less accurately for memory of aversive but not neutral stimuli (P < 0.01). In subjects with rural childhoods, there was relatively increased engagement of bilateral striatum at encoding, increased engagement of bilateral hippocampus at retrieval of neutral and aversive stimuli, and increased engagement of amygdala at aversive retrieval (P < 0.05 FDR corrected, cluster size > 50).ConclusionsRural or urban childhoods appear associated with physiological and behavioural differences, particularly in the neural processing of aversive episodic memory at medial temporal and striatal brain regions. It remains to be explored the extent to which these effects relate to individual risk for neuropsychiatric or stress-related disorders.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Factors associated with occupancy of pharmacist positions in public sector hospitals in Uganda: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundPharmacists are invaluable resources in health care. Their expertise in pharmacotherapy and medicine management both ensures that medicines of appropriate quality are available in health facilities at the right cost and are used appropriately. Unfortunately, some countries like Uganda have shortage of pharmacists in public health facilities, the dominant providers of care. This study investigated the factors that affect the occupancy of pharmacist positions in Uganda’s public hospitals, including hiring patterns and job attraction and retention.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 91 registered pharmacists practicing in Uganda and desk review of records from the country’s health care worker (HCW) recruiting agency was done in the months of May, June, and July, 2016. Pharmacist interviews were done using self-administered structured questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive statistics and chi-square test.ResultsSlight majority (53%) of the interviewed pharmacists work in two sectors. About 60% of the pharmacists had ever applied for public hospital jobs. Of those who received offers (N = 46), 30% had declined them. Among those who accepted the offers (N = 41), 41% had already quit. Meanwhile, the pace of hiring pharmacists into Uganda’s public sector is too slow. Low socio-economic status of family in childhood (χ2 = 2.77, p = 0.10), admission through matriculation and diploma scheme (χ2 = 2.37, p = 0.12), internship in countryside hospitals (χ2 = 2.24, p = 0.13), working experience before pharmacy school (χ2 = 2.21, p = 0.14), salary expectation (χ2 = 1.76, p = 0.18), and rural secondary education (χ2 = 1.75, p = 0.19) favored attraction but in a statistically insignificant manner. Retention was most favored by zero postgraduate qualification (χ2 = 4.39, p = 0.04), matriculation and diploma admission scheme (χ2 = 2.57, p = 0.11), and working experience in private sector (χ2 = 2.21, p = 0.14).ConclusionsThe pace of hiring of pharmacists into Uganda’s public health sector is too slow and should be stepped up. Besides work incentives, affirmative action to increase admissions into pharmacy degree training programs through matriculation and diploma schemes and for children with rural childhoods should be considered.

Childhood Exposure and Stock Market Participation

This research studies the childhood exposure effect on stock market participation. We find that individuals with rural childhoods are less likely to invest in the stock market, controlling for wealth, trust, social interaction, risk attitude, and financial literacy. Furthermore, we find evidence that the trait of openness mitigates the enduring effect of rural childhood exposure, which is consistent with a cultural explanation.

Social origins, hukou conversion, and the wellbeing of urban residents in contemporary China

This paper examines the determinants and consequences of rural to urban registration (hukou) mobility in contemporary China, focusing on the link between social origins, hukou conversion, and the consequences of conversion. In contrast to massive rural–urban migration, hukou conversion is difficult and rare, but childhood urban residence increases the likelihood of achieving an urban hukou. Compared to people with urban origins, hukou converters are more likely to enter tertiary institutions, but are significantly less likely to do so subsequent to hukou conversion. Individual converters from rural origins are more likely to work in non-manual occupations. Collective converters earn significantly less than people with urban origins. Individual converters with rural childhoods, who used to be at the bottom of the society, are significantly happier than other urban residents, although they are less healthy. These results show that the effect of hukou conversion varies across hukou converters from different social origins.