Abstract
The purpose of this study is to broaden the understanding of the determinants of farmers' satisfactions with life as a whole and with farming per se by replicating and extending Molnar's 1985 study of the overall subjective well-being of Alabama farmers. Data from a 1982 study of Kentucky farmers are used to accomplish this objective. Molnar's conclusions regarding the individual and structural determinants of farmers' global well-being are generally confirmed. In addition, the farmer's global satisfaction with life is shown to be related to his satisfaction with farming but the structural determinants of global and farm satisfaction differ. Net farm income, but not total family income or off-farm work time, determine farm satisfaction while the converse is true for global satisfaction with life. Education is shown to specify farmers who have relatively large farms but low net farm incomes and dissatisfaction with farming and with life. Perceived rewards of farming are important determinants of both satisfaction domains. It is argued that farmers' opportunities to construct their workplaces explains the irrelevance of farm size to subjective well-being.
Recommended Citation
Coughenour, C., and Louis Swanson. 1992. "Determinants of Farmers' Satisfactions With Farming and With Life: A Replication and Extension." Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 09(1): Article 3. Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/jrss/vol09/iss1/3
Publication Date
12-31-1992
