‘It's a lonely old world’: Developing a multidimensional understanding of loneliness in farming

Lobley, Matt; McCann, Jude; Phillimore, Alex

doi:10.1111/soru.12399

Cited by 30 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…All of the articles in this special issue explore the drivers of poor farmer wellbeing and mental health, with insights being drawn from empirical work in Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, 1 and the US. The first article by Wheeler et al (2023) explores how loneliness and isolation affect farmer wellbeing. Wheeler et al draw on their research with members of the agricultural community in England to present a new conceptual model of loneliness in farming, developing new understanding about how loneliness and associated mental health problems are experienced within this specific sociocultural context.…”

Section: Stressors On Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst the picture is not fully clear (Chiswell, 2022), research has suggested that the number of farmers struggling with stress, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation may be on the rise (Rose et al., 2022) or at least that it is a widespread problem (Wheeler & Lobley, 2022). Furthermore, the issue is not only confined to principal farmers but also affects members of the wider farming family and farm workers (Wheeler et al,, 2023). Despite the recent rise in global research on this issue, we still lack a nuanced understanding of the stressors affecting poor mental wellbeing and of the support landscapes and interventions needed to improve the situation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Farming wellbeing through and beyond COVID‐19: Stressors, gender differences and landscapes of support

et al. 2023

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Although there has been a recent surge in research on drivers of poor farmer wellbeing and mental health, there is still a limited understanding of the state of wellbeing in farming communities around the world and how it can be best supported. This special issue seeks to extend our knowledge of how a combination of different stressors can challenge the wellbeing of farmers, farming families and farm workers, as well as how negative impacts can be unevenly distributed between different individuals. We advance the state of the art in research on farmer wellbeing, illustrating how social, economic and environmental policy drivers combine to create multiple points of stress, which are experienced differently by different individuals (e.g., age, gender). We move beyond an exploration of stressors towards a consideration of how landscapes of support for farmer wellbeing, and packages of support interventions, can improve the social resilience of farming communities. To be effective, these landscapes of support need to be accessible, well‐funded, joined‐up, and adaptable to evolving crises. This special issue explores farmer wellbeing in the context of global agricultural transitions, which are demanding new ways of farming (e.g., digitalisation, net zero, economic restructuring), and in light of shock events, such as the COVID‐19 pandemic, in four countries—Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the US. In exploring the impacts of future shock events and agricultural transitions on wellbeing, the issue concludes with a call to move beyond broad compilations of stressors and interventions and towards nuanced investigations of why and how poor farmer wellbeing occurs and how it can be best supported in specific contexts. The research from these four countries has wide relevance across European countries (similarity in farming systems, noting some differences), but a key message from the issue is that stressors on farmer wellbeing can be highly context‐dependent according to place‐based social, environmental, economic and political issues.

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Section: Stressors On Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farming wellbeing through and beyond COVID‐19: Stressors, gender differences and landscapes of support

et al. 2023

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“…The replacement of farm labour with capital and increases in the scale and intensity of farms have led to some farmers, particularly owner‐operators, working alone for longer periods. These developments may limit farmers’ opportunities to connect socially during their working day and outside of it (Lobley et al., 2005; Reed et al., 2002; Wheeler et al., 2023). The COVID‐19 pandemic has been a catalyst for greater adoption of, particularly, communications technologies that facilitate farmers to engage in online/remote trading (Marren, 2021).…”

Section: Social Isolation and Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuity, change and new ways of being: An exploratory assessment of farmer's experiences and responses to public health restrictions during the COVID‐19 pandemic in a rural Irish community

et al. 2023

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Farming occupations are, in the Global North, generally solitary, and a growing body of research identifies this as one of the factors that underpins low levels of wellbeing and poor mental health amongst farmers. The primary public health response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic focused on reducing transmission of the virus by limiting interactions of people. This article seeks to assess the impact of these restrictions on farmer's experience of isolation and how it shaped their wellbeing. Applying a broad socio‐ecological framework, we analyse change, continuity and shifts in social and economic relations and their spatial reconfiguration during the COVID‐19 pandemic as recounted in semi‐structured, qualitative interviews. We found that while COVID‐19 has disrupted socio‐spatial relations, including key sites of socialisation for farmers and rural communities, occupational isolation was viewed as a positive feature of farming as was working in nature. Familial and informal networks of support were important throughout the pandemic, while novel engagements with communication technologies facilitated both change and continuity of social and economic interaction. Whilst these findings are broadly positive, the reconfiguration of, particularly, economic relations is viewed as accelerating the turn towards service delivery using technology and, consequently, further reducing opportunities for social interaction.

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“…How to cite this article: Shortland, F., Hall, J., Hurley, P., Little, R., Nye, C., Lobley, M. et al (2023) Landscapes of support for farming mental health: Adaptability in the face of crisis. Sociologia Ruralis, 63(S1), 116-140. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12414…”

Section: S U P P O R T I N G I N F O R M At I O Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farmers are already relatively isolated, physically, socially and culturally (Lobley et al., 2019; Wheeler et al., 2023), and studies have indicated that there is a relatively high incidence of low mental health among farmers around the world (Adhikari et al., 2021; Henning‐Smith et al., 2021; Meredith et al., 2020; Phillipson et al., 2020; Rudolphi & Barnes, 2020; Smith, 2020; Wypler & Hoffelmeyer, 2020). A recent survey funded by the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Fund (RABI, 2021) in England and Wales found that 36% of the farming community was probably or possibly depressed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscapes of support for farming mental health: Adaptability in the face of crisis

Shortland

Hall²,

Hurley

et al. 2022

Sociologia Ruralis

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Poor mental health is an important and increasingly prevalent issue facing the farming industry. The adaptability of what we, in this article, describe as 'landscapes of support' for farming mental health is important to allow support systems to adapt successfully in times of crisis. The term 'landscapes of support' refers to the range of support sources available to farmers, including government, third sector bodies and farming/community groups. This article seeks to understand the factors influencing the adaptability of these landscapes of support, especially at a time of crisis. Using a case study of the UK, we undertook a literature review, interviews with 22 mental health support providers and an online survey of people within landscapes of support (93) and farmers themselves (207). We also held an end-of-project workshop. Using an adapted three-point framework to assess adaptability, we found that supportgiving organisations adapted during the pandemic using a range of interventions (e.g., enhanced digital offering, use of media), but implementation was affected by organisational challenges (e.g., limited digital training,This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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‘It's a lonely old world’: Developing a multidimensional understanding of loneliness in farming

Abstract: The version presented here may differ from the published version. If citing, you are advised to consult the published version for pagination, volume/issue and date of publication

Cited by 30 publications

References 93 publications

Farming wellbeing through and beyond COVID‐19: Stressors, gender differences and landscapes of support

Farming wellbeing through and beyond COVID‐19: Stressors, gender differences and landscapes of support

Continuity, change and new ways of being: An exploratory assessment of farmer's experiences and responses to public health restrictions during the COVID‐19 pandemic in a rural Irish community

Landscapes of support for farming mental health: Adaptability in the face of crisis

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