 |
Rural Kids Lagging in Health, Education
Contact: Mark Mather, Population Reference Bureau, 202-939-5433
WASHINGTON � (July 2004) Children in rural America face many of the same challenges that are typically associated with children living in cities�and fare worse than urban kids on several key indicators of child well-being, according to new research conducted by the Population Reference Bureau.
Each year, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics issues a report on the well-being of America�s Children. The report highlights household and family characteristics, along with key health, social, and education measures that are linked to child well-being. The Population Reference Bureau compared estimates for children in rural and urban areas for many of the key measures in that report.
The findings paint a mixed picture for kids living in rural America (see Table 1). Children in rural areas are better off than their urban counterparts on some measures (English-speaking ability, housing problems) but worse off on many others (secure parental employment, poverty, health status, mortality rates, cigarette, alcohol, and drug use, and education outcomes). Many of these problems are exacerbated by the isolation, lack of jobs, and lack of support services for families living in rural communities.
Table 1
Estimates of Child Well-Being Inside and Outside Metropolitan Areas
|
Year |
Percent
|
|
|
U.S. |
Metro |
Nonmetro |
| FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS |
| Children living with two married parents |
2003 |
68 |
68 |
68 |
| Children 5-17 with difficulty speaking English |
2000 |
7 |
7 |
3 |
| FAMILY ECONOMIC SECURITY |
| Related children living in poverty |
2002 |
16 |
16 |
20 |
| Related children living in extreme poverty |
2002 |
7 |
6 |
7 |
| Related children living in low-income families |
2002 |
22 |
20 |
27 |
| Children living with at least one parent employed full time/year-round |
2002 |
78 |
79 |
76 |
| Housing problems in households with children |
2001 |
36
|
37 |
31 |
| Households reporting child hunger due to food insecurity |
2002 |
0.8
|
0.8
|
0.8 |
| Children covered by health insurance |
2002 |
88
|
88
|
88 |
| Children with no usual source of health care |
2002 |
6
|
6 |
6 |
| HEALTH |
| Children in very good or excellent health |
2002 |
83 |
84 |
82 |
| Children 5-17 with activity limitation resulting from chronic conditions |
2001 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
| Children 19-35 months with recommended immunization coverage |
2002 |
78 |
78 |
77 |
| Deaths per 100,000 children ages 1 to 4 |
2000 |
32 |
30 |
42 |
| Deaths per 100,000 children ages 5 to 14 |
2000 |
18 |
17 |
24 |
| Deaths per 100,000 adolescents ages 15 to 19 |
2000 |
67 |
62 |
87 |
| BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT |
| 10th grade students who reported smoking daily in the previous 30 days |
2003 |
9 |
8 |
14 |
| 10th grade students who reported binge drinking in the last two weeks |
2003 |
22 |
21 |
26 |
| 10th grade students who have used illicit drugs in the previous 30 days |
2003 |
20 |
19 |
22 |
| EDUCATION |
| Teens 16-19 who are neither in school nor working |
2003 |
8 |
8 |
10 |
| High school grads 25-29 who have completed a BA or higher |
2003 |
28 |
30 |
18 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: 2000 Census SF3, Current Population Survey (Basic Monthly Survey and March, October, and Food Security Supplements); Department of Housing and Urban Development: American Housing Survey; National Center for Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey, National Immunization Survey, National Vital Statistics System; National Institutes of Health: Monitoring the Future National Survey.
The higher mortality rates for children in rural areas are of particular concern. Mortality rates are about 40 percent higher for children and teens living in rural areas. According to Mark Mather, director of the Rural Families Data Center, �higher infant mortality rates are linked to the higher poverty rates, lower education levels, and lack of prenatal care specialists practicing in rural areas. For older children, the higher mortality rates could reflect the greater risk of fatal car accidents on rural roads.�
Rural youth are also lagging on key education measures. Teens in rural areas are more likely to be �idle� (detached from school and the workforce), and at older ages only 18 percent of young adults in rural areas have a bachelor�s degree, compared with 30 percent of young adults in urban areas. Each year, many young adults leave rural areas for educational, employment, and social opportunities in metropolitan areas�so this explains part of the rural/urban disparity in education.
These findings and additional information about rural children and families will be available in America�s Rural Children, a new publication by the Rural Families Data Center (www.rfdcenter.org), in August 2004. For detailed descriptions of the definitions and data sources used in this analysis, visit the website of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics at www.childstats.gov.
This research was supported with a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
|
