Study: Women Farmers More Depressed

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Though men and women farmers face a lot of the same stressors in running farms, a new study by the University of Illinois found a higher proportion of female farmers met the criteria for moderately severe or severe depression than men did.

In a survey mailed to a random sample of 1,000 farmers in Illinois, researchers found differences in the issues that stress male and female farmers as well as in the types of support groups available to them.

In particular, the study found male farmers said they experienced more stress from economic conditions and environmental concerns than women do, "while women tended to have slightly higher levels of geographic isolation stress than men."

"Overall, there were no significant differences by gender in the proportion meeting the criteria for depression or anxiety," the study said.

"However, the results are higher than what is observed in the general population. Among those farmers who experience higher levels of stress about geographic isolation, the odds for women farmers to experience depressive symptoms are four times more than men farmers."

The latest Census of Agriculture found a significant increase in the number of women entering the industry.

The census said between 2012 and 2017 the number of women farm operators grew by 27% to about 1.2 million.

In addition, the Illinois study said farm women have reported "significantly higher stress levels" than farm men.

"Some have attributed high levels of stress among farm women to high workloads and role conflict," the study said.

The study authors, for example, pointed to North Carolina farm women who in a previous study described stressors including the inability to mentally and physically separate from the farm because of "non-stop demands" and financial constraints.

"Farm women also communicated that they experienced some isolation in their community, as they felt misunderstood by non-farm people but also by agricultural-related organizations and commodity groups," the University of Illinois study said.

Overall, the estimated prevalence of depression among all farmers has ranged from 7.4% to 53%, according to the study.

Results often vary based on population, state and year.

"For example, among experienced farmers in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and South Dakota, 29.3% met the criteria for major depressive disorder and 24.1% of farmers in Iowa reported high or very high depressed mood over the course of a three-year study period," the study said about previous research.

In addition, the study found men farmers were "significantly more likely" to indicate they receive "high social support" from their significant other.

"This aligns with previous research that men report more benefit from social support in marriage than women do," the study said.

"With greater expectations for house and care work for women, women are more negatively impacted by negative events related to family and friends. Social network size and satisfaction are often higher among women than men, which creates benefits for women's mental health."

The authors said the findings "make sense" in context -- that among those farmers with low family support, women had "much higher" odds of depressive symptoms than men and higher anxiety symptoms.

"Strong family support has been linked to lower levels of farm- related stressors among farm women, however, family support does not have a demonstrated significant relationship with psychological well-being," the study found.

"In our sample of Illinois farmers, women who reported low family support were at much higher odds of depression than men reporting the same level of support. This is an important phenomenon that should be further researched, especially when considering the emphasis on family farming and multigenerational farming in the U.S."

The study said farm women operators also often tend to the house, the children and the farm, and maintain an off-farm job.

"Women's work on farms, while essential, is often invisible due to patriarchal gender relations on farms and in farm families, and women farmers report being misunderstood as farm professionals," the study said.

"Women may be giving their time, effort, and emotional attention to others in the farm environment but not receiving reciprocating support from family and significant others."

Read the study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/…

For more on gender differences in mental health among rural Americans, see "Gender Differences Exist in Farmer Emotional Health" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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