THE PROCESS OF EDUCATIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF ADOLESCENT FEMALES FROM LOW-INCOME, RURAL FAMILIES

This study examined the educational and occupational attainment of young women from low-income, Appalachian families who resided in rural areas. Data from a 10-year longitudinal study from three southeastern states were examined. Path analysis was used to test the relative contribution of family-of-origin, family life-cycle, and social psychological variables as predictors of young women's status attainment. Although results from this study supported many of the hypothesized relationships found in previous status attainment research, the variables unique to women's attainment (i.e., significant other influence on marriage and fertility plans, actual marriage and fertility plans, age at marriage, number of children, and household size) were not predictive. Furthermore, educational attainment did not predict the occupational attainment of these women. Several findings for family socioeconomic background and social psychological variables, however, were interpreted as resulting from traditional gender-role expectations, family socialization processes, and the structural limitations faced by low-income women from rural areas.