Brennan Mary, Hennessy Thia, Meredith David, Dillon Emma
Teagasc Rural Economy and Development Programme, Athenry, Co. Galway, Ireland.
Cork University Business School, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
J Agromedicine. 2022 Apr;27(2):132-142. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2021.1988020. Epub 2021 Oct 15.
The demands of modern farming can place substantial stress upon the farmer, adversely impacting their wellbeing. This study identifies both the prevalence of stress and assesses the demographic, farm, and social characteristics that impact the incidence of stress. We report the results of a survey of a nationally representative sample of farm enterprises in Ireland undertaken in association with the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) in 2018, which saw 736 questionnaires completed by farm operators. Frequency analysis is used to report the primary sources and prevalence of stress. A probit model is developed identifying and quantifying the factors that impact the incidence of stress. There were 57% of farmers who reported experiencing stress resulting from their farm work. Key sources of stress included "poor weather", (47%), "workload" (32%) and "financial" concerns (28%). The results of the probit model establish that the effect of age on the incidence of stress is significant, positive, and non-linear, indicating as farmers get older they are more likely to experience stress but at a declining rate. Operating a sheep farm system, as opposed to any other type of farm system, reduces the probability of stress. Working off-farm also reduces the probability of stress by 0.097, other things being equal. The findings highlight variance in the levels of stress reported by farmers by age and farm system, and consequently, the need to develop targeted supports that take consideration of differences within the population of farmers and farm enterprises.
现代农业的需求会给农民带来巨大压力，对他们的幸福感产生不利影响。本研究既确定了压力的普遍程度，又评估了影响压力发生率的人口统计学、农场和社会特征。我们报告了与2018年蒂亚斯卡斯国家农场调查（NFS）联合开展的一项针对爱尔兰具有全国代表性的农场企业样本的调查结果，该调查有736份问卷由农场经营者填写。频率分析用于报告压力的主要来源和普遍程度。开发了一个概率模型来识别和量化影响压力发生率的因素。有57%的农民报告称因农场工作而感到压力。压力的主要来源包括“恶劣天气”（47%）、“工作量”（32%）和“财务”问题（28%）。概率模型的结果表明，年龄对压力发生率的影响是显著的、正向的且非线性的，这表明随着农民年龄的增长，他们更有可能经历压力，但增速在下降。与任何其他类型的农场系统相比，经营养羊农场系统可降低压力发生的概率。在其他条件相同的情况下，从事非农场工作也会使压力发生的概率降低0.097。研究结果凸显了不同年龄和农场系统的农民所报告的压力水平存在差异，因此，有必要制定有针对性的支持措施，以考虑农民群体和农场企业内部的差异。
