Understanding Parenting Support in Rural Neighborhoods

Official rates of child maltreatment in rural areas exceed rates within urban areas. Within urban-based research, neighborhood factors such as parenting support from neighbors have been found to affect parenting behaviors in important ways. Using in-depth interviews, the current study sought to understand parenting support from neighbors within rural areas. During the summer of 2021, virtual in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 parents in rural Michigan. Parents were recruited from three online community groups in Livingston County, Michigan, via Facebook. Participants had mixed feelings about whether their neighbors were helpful in supporting their parenting. Some participants reported that they had meaningful community connections related to parenting that were helpful to them in assisting with watching over their children, keeping their children safe, and sharing advice and resources. Other participants reported feelings of isolation. These participants reported feeling disconnected from their neighbors, having limited information about their neighbors, and being unsure about how their neighbors could be helpful to them in their parenting role. Many participants reported the importance of informal networks, but relied on individuals who were not in their direct geographic neighborhood for parenting support. The study suggests that findings from urban neighborhood research literature and the measures used to generate these findings may not apply within the rural context.