A new University of Georgia (UGA) study published in the Journal of Agromedicine reveals that one in five U.S. farmers report binge drinking alcohol when they experience high levels of stress.
Farming is a uniquely stressful vocation. Farmers work long hours performing labor-intensive, repetitive and often dangerous tasks. Farming is among the 10 most dangerous jobs in the United States, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Then there’s the financial burden of managing a farm. Farming is notoriously high risk, with profits living and dying by a good harvest.
“Alcohol is the most acceptable way to deal with that stress versus actually going to talk to somebody about that stress, or it’s a way to be able to talk about that stress with friends,” said Christina Proctor, lead author of the study and a clinical associate professor at UGA’s College of Public Health.
Most rural communities face barriers to health care, including lack of specialists, longer wait times and long distances to drive to health care facilities. Additionally, the UGA researchers have identified more farming-specific barriers, including stigma and a lack of trust in health care providers. Many farmers have expressed fear that seeking mental health care would be interpreted by fellow farmers or the companies paying them to produce that they can’t handle their operation.
“It’s much easier for them to turn inward and just consume alcohol,” Proctor said. “And it’s also more acceptable in rural areas to do that than it is to go to a mental health care facility.”
Proctor and her co-author, doctoral student Noah Hopkins, surveyed 1,045 farmers nationwide who produce a wide range of high-demand commodities. The survey dug into their alcohol use and their perceptions of their own ability to deal with stress, measured as resilience. Almost all (96%) reported drinking alcohol, and over one-third said they consumed two to three drinks per week.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported that 21.7% of U.S. adults reported drinking five or more alcoholic beverages in the last month, compared to 22.5% of farmers. Those numbers worry Proctor. She said there are drastic, traumatic outcomes associated with not being able to ask for care, “using alcohol to cope and then feeling hopeless.”
Farmers who reported that they could rely on community resources and peers, which are key factors in resilience scores, were less likely to drink to excess.
The authors said leaning into that desire to help a fellow farmer or a fellow community member is key to helping farmers overcome stigma and accept mental health care resources when they are available.
“If the networks (for care) don’t exist, we’ve got to train our bankers,” Proctor said. “We’ve got to train Farm Bureau agents; we’ve got to train feed store managers. Everyone in rural areas has to be willing to have those open and honest conversations about mental health.”
Source: UGA
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