{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T15:24:05Z","timestamp":1785425045862,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785283200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000054","name":"National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["T32CA117865"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["T32CA117865"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000054","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["T32CA117865"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["T32CA117865"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/040gcmg81","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000025","name":"National Institute of Mental Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["DP2MH129967"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DP2MH129967"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000025","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["DP2MH129967"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DP2MH129967"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04xeg9z08","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health","IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Suicide rates among individuals working in agriculture remain disproportionately high in the United States. Although farming-related stressors and coping strategies are documented, gaps remain in understanding how farmers sustain themselves psychologically amid chronic stress and why elevated suicide risk persists despite apparent resilience. Purpose: This study sought to explore the major stressors of farming, coping strategies used by farmers, and their barriers to help-seeking, with the goal of informing suicide prevention and mental health interventions. Methods: Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Kentucky farmers recently receiving a suicide prevention intervention. Participants were purposively sampled and interviewed via telephone or Zoom. Interviews were transcribed, modified verbatim, and then analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Farmers described chronic stressors, including financial volatility, time scarcity, uncontrollable weather, loneliness, and feeling misunderstood or undervalued by the general public. Despite these stressors, many participants initially denied being stressed. Their coping strategies centered on meaning-making rather than stress elimination, including faith, gratitude, nature-based reflection, occupational pride, and community ties. However, prominent barriers to help-seeking included stigma, self-reliance, and privacy concerns. Conclusions: The findings suggest that farmer resilience is primarily enacted through their resourcefulness, including enduring stressors and reframing their thoughts, which enabled their continued functioning despite chronic stress. However, their resourcefulness often obscures their distress and delays help-seeking. These findings may help explain why elevated suicide risk persists among farmers even with strong coping narratives. Interventions that leverage existing strengths while addressing stigma, trust, and structural stressors are needed to better support farmer mental health and suicide prevention.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23080983","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T10:13:47Z","timestamp":1785320027000},"page":"983","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mental Health Stressors and Barriers to Support Among Rural Farmers: A Qualitative Study of Agricultural Communities in the East South-Central United States"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0816-0933","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeanne M.","family":"Ward","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, Indiana University, 600 Barnhill Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Melissa","family":"Perkins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 W 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7663-3638","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"John R.","family":"Blosnich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 W 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA"},{"name":"Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA 15240, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2023, September 26). 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