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The Increase of Psycho‐social andStress‐related Problems in UKAgricultural Colleges: the wardens’experienceAlison S. Monk a & Ian B. Robson aa Harper Adams University College , Newport, Shropshire,TF10 8NB, UKPublished online: 28 Jul 2006.

To cite this article: Alison S. Monk & Ian B. Robson (1999) The Increase of Psycho‐social andStress‐related Problems in UK Agricultural Colleges: the wardens’ experience, Journal ofFurther and Higher Education, 23:3, 329-338, DOI: 10.1080/0309877990230303

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Journal of Further and Higher Education, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1999 329

The Increase of Psycho-social andStress-related Problems in UKAgricultural Colleges: the wardens'experienceALISON S. MONK & IAN B. ROBSONHarper Adams University College, Newport, Shropshire TF10 8NB, UK

ABSTRACT Increasing pressures on rural young people are reflected in rising levels ofpsycho-social disorders amongst agricultural college students. This article argues that, intheir own enlightened self-interest, colleges must provide pastoral care and facilitate thepersonal development of their students, to raise levels of academic achievement and reducedrop-out rates.

The world is passing through troubled times. The young people have noreverence for their parents. They are impatient of all restraint; they talk asif they alone knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us isfoolishness for them.

Peter the Hermit, a monk Crusader, at the end of the 11th century

Introduction

Having received considerable media attention it is well researched and documentedthat rates of rural stress, depression and suicide are rising throughout the westernworld. Similarly the growth of these same problems amongst young people inindustrialised countries is well known (e.g. Charlton, 1995; Jacob et al., 1997). InAustralia suicide rates are rising amongst young people in rural areas, especiallyyoung men (King, 1997). Whether this is true for the United Kingdom is unclearbut the pressures on this group are growing with increasing alcoholism, isolation andlower self-esteem and they suffer multiple deprivations such as unemployment andpoor public transport coupled with the inability to afford a car (Coward et al., 1990;Wynn-Jones, 1994; Le Mesurier, 1996). There is evidence too of a growing problemof drug abuse in rural areas, previously thought immune to this erstwhile urbanproblem (Davidson et al, 1997; Wilson & Campbell, 1998) and US research (cited

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in McGregor et al., 1995) suggests that younger family members score higher thanthe older generation on the farm family stress scale.

While reviewing the rise in suicide deaths on British farms. Pickles (1996)commented that 'agricultural colleges should be made aware of potential sources ofproblems' and research indicates that agricultural students in the UK are alreadysuffering many of the same problems as the older rural population and are subjectto many of the same pressures (Monk & Thorogood, 1996). Of the studentssurveyed, 50% knew of at least one suicide victim, rising to 70% for those frompurely farming backgrounds (Monk, 1997) and that contrasted sharply with otherresearch where 30% of young people in urban areas knew of someone who had takentheir own life (Samaritans, 1997). The students showed poor knowledge of wherehelp can be obtained: over half did not know of any of the groups that exist to helpthose in the rural sector and the most widely known group was the Samaritans, citedby just over 30% of respondents (Monk, 1997).

Stress and Suicide in Higher Education

The transition from home to college or university is likely to impose stress on ayoung adult in addition to that caused by examinations or continuous assessmentwhich can create difficulties in staff-student relationships (Fisher, 1994). Howstudents react to stress varies, and suicide can be considered the most extremereaction. However, identifying students at risk is not always an easy task: USresearch shows that, while most young people who commit suicide are extrovert,impulsive, substance abusing, risk takers, suicidal college students are largely de-pressed, quiet, socially isolated, do not abuse drugs or alcohol and draw littleattention to themselves (Asberg, 1997). According to the same research, manycollege students 'feel chronically depressed, worthless and rejected by their families'as they 'struggle to gain some measure of acceptance and worth through academicachievement', 'winning parental love through academic drudgery'.

Although half of suicidal students present themselves for medical help with thesymptoms of their depressive or other illness in the months before the act, very fewreport their intent. Hence,' academic and support staff might be best advised to focuson withdrawn students whose behaviour, in and out of class, may disclose theirhopelessness and suicidal intent. Asberg argues that they hold considerable ability toensure student compliance with treatment and for many 'a supportive campussetting enables them to continue their studies while receiving treatment' (Asberg,1997).

A Survey of Agricultural Colleges

Given the traditional image of the close-knit rural community, supporting itsmembers under pressure (Valentine, 1997), it might be supposed that agriculturalcolleges differ fundamentally from other educational institutions. They are bothsmaller and also have a greater sense of community, given the narrow range ofcourses focusing on areas of common interest. So, is this true and, if so, does it

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Stress-related Problems in UK Agricultural Colleges 331

actually help students to overcome the problems associated with stress? Is theincidence of stress-related problems increasing amongst agricultural college studentsand does their experience differ significantly from that of young urban people?

Assuming the need to educate young people from rural areas about the growingproblems of stress and suicide, the next stage was to investigate what sort ofinformation they needed. While academic staff may spend more time with studentsin a structured setting, it is college wardens, frequently in loco parentis, who see thestudents in more social settings and are often the first port of call for students introuble. Every year agricultural college wardens meet in an informal grouping todiscuss areas of common interest. In 1997 the group discussed the subjects ofstudent stress and suicide, considering them to be urgent and relevant, and itsmembers agreed to take part in a survey. Some of the results, concerned with thestudent experience, are presented here.

A total of 54 colleges in the UK were surveyed of which 24 responded. Of these,14% specialise in Higher Education, 24% in Further Education while the restprovide both. Slightly over half the colleges had more male students than female:typically 55 to 60% of students are male. Most of the colleges delivered courses toboth full-time and part-time students as well as those on day-release and block-re-lease, while two-thirds offered sandwich courses. Two-thirds run degree or HNDprogrammes. The average number of students registered was 200, of which themajority were in the 18 to 22 age range, although some colleges specialised in 16 and17 year olds, and, for a few, over half the students were mature students, aged 23and over. All but one college had residential accommodation and on averageone-third of students registered lived on campus.

Results

Financial Problems

Unsurprisingly, finance was the problem cited most often, by over 90% of wardens[1]. How much worse this is going to become when the new UK education policyrequires students to contribute towards the cost of their tuition fees is anybody'sguess (O'Leary, 1997), but according to a new survey by a national bank 'moststudents believe that they will get through university without having to borrowany money despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. In practice, tens ofthousands of students graduate with debts in five figures' (Judd, 1997). UKagricultural colleges may need to draw heavily on the American experience makingHigher Education more flexible to allow students to undertake paid work whilestudying.

Psycho-social Disorders

According to Professor Michael Rutter (quoted in Tyler, 1995) nearly all developedcountries have seen a marked rise in psychosocial disorders among the young duringthe last 50 years, manifesting itself in increased rates of crime, drunkenness, drug

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abuse, suicide and suicidal behaviour, depression and eating disorders. Wardensreported an increase in the incidence of drug (82%) and alcohol abuse (64%). Fora long time it has been assumed that drug abuse is an urban problem from whichyoung people are protected living in a countryside 'popularly imagined to be a safeplace to grow up' (Valentine, 1997). However, recent research indicates that'all forms of drug abuse are prevalent in rural areas' (Davidson et al., 1997). Howmuch of a problem drugs have become at agricultural colleges is not known and itmay be timely to instigate research into this area as well as consider how best tocontrol drug abuse in these institutions. A recent report indicates that the ruralyoung are in fact quite ignorant about drugs and do not ask for more informationfor fear of being stigmatised (Davidson et al., 1997). This may be one area whereagricultural colleges can meet a need for information without appearing to condonethe practice.

Researchers have, for many years, reported greater and greater levels of stress,depression and suicidal ideation amongst younger and younger children (Samari-tans, 1996, 1997; Corrigan, 1997) so the growing incidence in young people atagricultural colleges (stress 64%, depression 59% and suicidal ideation 36%) wasnot unexpected. This is not a purely urban phenomenon, confirming the findings ofanother UK survey where young people at agricultural colleges admitted to feelingsof loneliness and depression when they worked alone for long periods: 50% ofrespondents in that survey had worked alone for six hours or more at one time,indicating that they are subject to many of the same pressures as the older ruralpopulation (Monk & Thorogood, 1996). The problems of abuse (e.g. mental,physical, sexual and self-mutilation: 55%), pregnancy or abortion (45%), and eatingdisorders (41%), although still important, were reported by slightly fewer respon-dents.

Family Problems

The transition from school to university or college and college life itself can causestress as discussed earlier (Fisher, 1994). Even where there are no family problemssome parents move house when their children go to university and frequentlyparents delay the decision to divorce until the last sibling leaves home, which canbe very disturbing for a young person. It hard to study when something major isgoing on at home and it is very important for a young person to feel they still havea home and 'a room to go back to' (O'Sullivan, 1997). Problems associated withparents divorcing (82%), single-parent families (73%) and parents remarrying(59%) were considered to be significant by the respondents to this survey. Britainhas the highest divorce rate in the European Union (Anonymous, 1992) and thebreak up of families and lack of family support was perceived to affect students'ability to make decisions or tackle problems. While acrimony surrounding thedivorce can cause problems, family restructuring was also reported to result ingrowing problems of abuse not only from natural parents but also step-parents andguardians.

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Stress-related Problems in UK Agricultural Colleges 333

External Pressures on Young People

In this survey, 'while sex, drugs and financial pressures are the most common'pressures, the biggest pressures come from the competitiveness of the job marketand 'being asked to make life decisions'. Tyler (1995) agrees that 'young peoplehave more options than they used to have and that's mostly a good thing. But it alsomeans they have more decisions to make, about taking drugs, living together beforemarriage, than in previous eras' (Tyler, 1995). Indeed, 'psychologists now believethat, at 18, emotional maturity may still be a decade away at a time when you needa clear head for university and breaking into work' while 'today's adolescents don'tget the same freedoms [we did] and grow up with a greater sense of dependence.They are far less certain about the future. Parents may cast them off when they arenot ready' (O'Sullivan, 1997). O'Sullivan (1997) argues that young people face farless certain futures than their parents did and the difficulty of finding and keepingjobs makes work very competitive: 'few older people', he suggests, 'have the time orenergy to guide young hopefuls', adding to the stress they face (O'Sullivan, 1997).

Other respondents specified increasing peer and media pressure to conform,especially in such a consumer-orientated society, the attraction of drugs, lack offamily support and unstable family backgrounds. Pressure to comply with mediastereotypes combined with the pressure of friends make it 'less acceptable to be"different" ' and young people 'want do everything at an earlier age' so there ispressure 'to have a good time and possessions now!' and these pressures follow theminto their college life.

Do the Students Know How and Where to get Help for the Various Problems they Face?

It is popularly believed that rural people are self-reliant and unwilling to share theirproblems or feelings (Cornelius, 1996; Hughes & Keady, 1996) and that this is onecontributory factor to the high suicide rate. Certainly, self-help groups are oftenmore successful at reaching rural dwellers in crisis than organisations perceived asbeing urban in nature. Self-help groups consist of other rural dwellers who under-stand the nature of the problems and issues facing country people. Do students atagricultural colleges see those in academic and pastoral care as sympathetic to theirspecific problems because they understand the background and culture from whichthey come? It is certainly true that the wardens believed students knew where to gethelp for academic (95%), health (91%), emotional (82%) and relationship problems(77%), indicating a level of trust in the support services on offer. This supports thefindings of a previous study where most students felt willing to confront and solvethe problems they faced and able to confide in those close to them (Monk &Thorogood, 1996). As a word of caution, one warden emphasised that 'initialcontact with the right help is all important', while another felt that this was especiallytrue with respect to students leaving prematurely: although drop-out rates were fairlylow at his college 'too many students are not receiving appropriate advice, help orsupport at the point of leaving or when the thought of leaving starts to germinate'.Knowing where to find help is only of use where it is made available, and small

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colleges face particular problems with resourcing support systems: one respondent inparticular felt that although staff were, in general, very supportive of the service, theylack the expertise and thought this needs addressing.

How Well Equipped were the Students to Make Decisions or Tackle Problems?

Despite their knowledge of where to get help and willingness to seek it, according tothe wardens, the ability of young people at agricultural colleges to make decisionsand tackle problems was mixed. Those with good family support had no problemsbut there was a perceived increase in naivety: 'an increasing number of students arebetter educated about technical issues (sex, divorce, drugs)' and 'street wise early inlife' but not mature enough emotionally and ill equipped 'to deal with associatedproblems at a younger age'. They were 'more equipped by necessity', i.e. throughmedia pressure, working parents, broken family units etc., while others said theywere less well equipped as they 'have less opportunity to plan activities' with 'instantentertainment at the touch of a button' and 'if something needs effort or persever-ance it is dropped': the example of parents divorcing reinforcing this 'easy come,easy go' approach. The influence of the media is such that 'they feel expected toreact in a certain way to a certain set of conditions: the soap opera way'. Hence, they'lack interpersonal skills and good role models, particularly in emotional issues' andthe 'role model stereotypes of TV soaps' led to a much more confrontationalapproach, exacerbated by a lack of 'natural leaders in County Agricultural Colleges'.At a time when they have more choices to make it seems that the break up of familiesis reducing the ability of these young people to make decisions and tackle problemsalthough, reportedly, this was less of a problem for students who have come throughthe care system. Having been 'counselled for the sake of it' they were very capableof sorting out problems or at least knowing where to ask for help. Another wardenfelt that a lot of his time, 'disproportionate to any problems they may have', wastaken up by a group of students at what might be regarded as the opposite end ofthe scale, 'often very articulate, the sons and daughters of successful middle classparents', leaving less time for others, even putting others off asking for help.

Several respondents felt that students attending straight from school adapted tohigher education less well than those who had pre-college experience. Traditionally,courses at agricultural colleges include a significant amount of practical experienceincluding a pre-college year on a farm for those pursuing a qualification in farming,but this has decreased in recent years. The benefit of this practical experience is, inthe words of one warden, 'noticeable in developing life skills'. Other courses are ofthe 'sandwich' variety where a year is spent on placement with an organisation in arelevant sector. The new UK policy on higher education (The Dearing Report), aswell as putting financial pressure on students, may have at least one helpful feature:the inclusion of work experience with 'a strong expectation that all courses wouldinclude short placement'. Although this is unlikely to take place before the studentsstarts at college, it will help in the development of work and life skills beforegraduation. Or put another way, 'People need to learn how to take responsibility by

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Stress-related Problems in UK Agricultural Colleges 335

being given responsibility. You learn by doing things, and responsibility is nodifferent' (Tyler, 1995).

The demise of practical experience within courses is not the only feature of life atagricultural colleges that is changing and which may have knock-on effects as far asproviding the close-knit, nurturing community students have benefited from in thepast. The wider range of courses, to meet the diminishing importance of agriculturein the rural economy, although still rural in emphasis, have introduced new tensionsand problems, described by one warden as an 'unnatural grouping of subject areasin small institutions leading to more stress, bullying and verbal abuse between ratherthan within subject groups e.g. Agriculture versus Horticulture, Animal Care versusLand Based Industries, Organic versus Conventional'. One warden felt that, as theygrow, colleges will lose the traditional close-knit communities and so more energyneeds directing at replacing the 'social, academic and recreational networks thathave successfully been in place for more than half a century, if not longer', whileanother said that unless care is taken addressing the support of the wider educationalexperience in all its forms, 'colleges will lose their community spirit and with it thesocial support networks which go a long way in supporting and developing studentsin the college environment.'

Learning Life Skills

Most wardens felt that life skills need teaching within the curriculum although onlytwo colleges did so and there was little agreement on how life skills should be taught:some felt it should be taught by specialists and others that it should be available onan informal 'drop-in' basis. The areas where training was most needed were,unsurprisingly, financial management, communication, language, discipline, re-liability, motivation, social skills, personal hygiene and the 'less headline worthyhealth issues' such as hepatitis. 'Students more than ever need presenting withinformal choices on drugs, health, sex, finance, relationships' said one warden, whofelt that colleges should continue to provide lectures, demonstrations and infor-mation for young people to improve their social and life skills which should beassessed and graded to provide employers with more evidence of employability andshow students their own personal weak points. Traditionally, life skills would havebeen taught by parents or the wider family (Condry, 1993) but as one warden said'I am not sure parents or families provide great life skills'. In the TV age, it is arguedthat young people pick up life skills from the media: as they watch television because'they seek to understand the world' (Condry, 1993). If this is true then the lengthof exposure and the content of their viewing is likely to influence their behaviour.For example, Condry argues that 'many girls like soap operas, believing that itteaches them about life; many boys like action adventure, for many of the samereasons'. One warden stressed that students 'need to be taught that the way peoplereact in the soaps is not the way they must react to a set of circumstances' andCondry agrees that 'children who are heavy viewers are more aggressive'. Accordingto another warden, 'unless they use College help they often make disastrousdecisions' based upon poor information from TV shows. Condry also feels that TV

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never shows people working hard for the wealth they display; indicating that thereis no connection between the two. Working hard makes poor television. Thisemphasises the 'quick-fix' approach to life, expecting instant gratification, whereadvertisements frequently emphasise the value of happiness. TV 'has no valuesystem, other than consumerism'; it 'lives in the present; it has no respect for thepast, little interest in the future' while one of the functions of education is to connectthe past with the future; the present deriving from the past and influencing thefuture. (Condry, 1993). If external constraints are ineffective, it is the developmentof internal constraints through one's upbringing that is important (Tyler, 1995),reinforcing the view that it might be appropriate to supplement such personaldevelopment within the education system.

Discussion

What lessons have been learnt from this survey and what implications does it havefor educators and resource managers in the college sector? Clearly, students atagricultural colleges are under much the same pressures as their urban counterpartsand as the older rural population, and it has been argued that there is even morepressure on rural young people to conform to the way of life of a small communitythan in urban areas (Anonymous, 1996). Whether they are a group doubly at riskneeds further research. However, given the UK government target of reducing thenumber of suicides by 15% by the end of the century (McGookin, 1995), makingsuch a vulnerable group aware of the problems and sources of help available couldbe argued to be a priority. But is it the responsibility of colleges to provide this helpand why should they concern themselves with developing lifeskills and overcomeproblems the causes of which lie outside the college walls? Condry (1993) wouldargue that the educational system and the professionals operating within it caninfluence young peoples' behaviour in response to the growing effect that televisionhas on their lives: a factor shown to have a significant effect on the behaviour ofstudents attending the colleges surveyed. Condry deals with the American experi-ence, but there is no reason, a priori, to assume that the British experience will differsubstantially. If children spend 40 hours per week watching television and 40 hoursin school, this leaves just 32 hours for social interaction with their peers and family(Condry, 1993) making television as strong an influence on young people as schooland possibly stronger than family and peer group. If indeed young people nowadaysare less well equipped with the resources to draw upon when under pressure and ifthis can be blamed, in part or whole, on the failure of television as an 'instrumentof socialisation', Condry states that 'schools and families need to do a better job thenthey are now doing, and they need all the help that is available'. Asberg (1997) alsopointed to the valuable role that colleges can play in identifying students atparticular risk and ensuring they comply with treatment for any mental healthproblems, and Heyno (1994) argues that, given a correlation between personaldevelopment and academic achievement, improved pastoral care can raise achieve-ment levels and reduce drop-out rates. Hence, it is in the enlightened self-interest ofacademic institution to provide good pastoral care if they are to achieve their goals

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Stress-related Problems in UK Agricultural Colleges 337

of academic excellence. But the evidence indicates that the 'peaceful, tranquil, closeknit [rural] community' (Valentine, 1997) supporting its members through difficulttimes is as much in danger of disappearing within agricultural colleges, as theyrestructure and grow, as in the wider rural community (Monk & Robson, 1998).What support students might require and how colleges might provide this tostudents facing growing pressures are subjects requiring further research.

Note

[1] Unless otherwise specified all percentages refer to percentage of wardens responding witha particular reply.

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