Cultivating care: Exploring gender differences in mental health, substance use, and healthcare among agricultural producers

Innate characteristics of the agricultural industry pose unparalleled stressors to farmers that are often accompanied by adverse mental health outcomes. Current intervention efforts focus on agricultural producers as a whole; however, experiences in agricultural spaces are largely dependent on gender, and gender-specific stressors have been associated with differences in mental health challenges. Although it is known that women and men encounter unique stressors, limited research is available concerning differences in experiences related to mental health conditions, substance use, barriers to mental healthcare, and preferred modes of mental health information and intervention strategies. Therefore, a mailed survey was created and administered to identify the mental health needs of both women and men agricultural producers. This thesis aims to examine gender differences in symptoms of anxiety and depression, substance use, barriers to care, and preferred avenues of intervention. To accomplish this goal, we surveyed agricultural producers in the USDA North Central region of the United States via a mailed survey in summer and fall of 2021. The survey instrument included items that measured mental illness symptoms, substance use, barriers to mental healthcare, and preferred sources and channels for receiving and seeking out mental health information. Our findings suggest farm women may have more symptoms of anxiety and depression, whereas farm men may be more likely to engage in harmful substance use. Additionally, women in agriculture may be more interested in seeking out and receiving mental health information overall, although they report more barriers to receiving treatment. Results from our study suggest a need for gender-specific intervention strategies for mental health literacy and treatment. Further research should consider gender differences concerning how particular stressors and experiences impact mental health, what mental health topics, resources, and services would be the most beneficial for the targeted populations, and how preferred sources and channels can help successfully facilitate dissemination. Utilizing preferred avenues of intervention by gender to disperse tailored resources, services, and information could be an effective approach to target gender-specific mental health outcomes and barriers to treatment.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Technical Systems Management

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Dierickx, Cheyanne K.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rudolphi, Josie M
• Issa, Salah F
• Mejía, Shannon T

• Agriculture
• Mental Health
• Occupational Safety And Health
• Gender
• Substance Use
• Farmer
• Rural Healthcare

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Cheyanne Dierickx

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122028

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F122028