I believe these results are probably true. (But then I’m prejudiced, and easily influenced against cities.)
OTOH, do we know how much testing was done on rural kids, applying the same stresses? The article talks of students from various sizes of cities, but doesn’t mention how many, if any, kids actually came from the country. (It just states that both were included in the testing.)
Also ““The divide between urban and rural is not that strong in Germany. You can go between city and country very quickly,” according to Meyer-Lindenberg. So it’s possible city stresses might not be uncommon to rural students — and would not be so easily differentiated in testing rural students.
And finally, the chicken-egg question: Which came first, mental problems or stress; did stress cause mental illness, or did mental illness exacerbate or precipitate the stress? (And I’m not sure where their conclusions will end up — as statistics on stress per se, or causes of mental illness?)
ScottJune 23, 2011 9:30 am
A coinkydinx-I was having the urban/rural discussion a few days ago..Most consider living in a urban area “better”. In the past,even a recently as the 1990s,there were some practical advantages to living in a urban area, but those are rapidly becoming fewer and fewer(communiations,medical facilities,availability of parts/supplies/groceries,jobs and so on). Now, it’s become much more of a personal choice. To me,living in some massive metropolis human habitrail sort of place would…not be first choice. For most of my life I lived in small town/rural areas,and where I’m at now has the highest population of any place I’ve lived in (about a quarter million),and I consider moving here one of the biggest mistakes I ever made, one I’m in the process of correcting(another step in this process takes place next week,when I’m on vacation). In some cities I’ve been in, you’d have to be loony to want to live there.
The biggest urban armpit I’ve ever been in was Jacksonville,Florida back in the 1970s-classic example of urban decay. You could’ve filmed a post-apocalyptic movie there..
Kent McManigalJune 23, 2011 4:19 pm
When I moved across the country a decade ago to live in the Scranton PA area for a few years, I was with my then-wife in downtown and was watching all the people walking around. A good percentage of them seemed crazy to me. Some were actually reacting to things I couldn’t see. I asked her if she thought cities made people crazy or just attracted those who already were. I still wonder.
I believe these results are probably true. (But then I’m prejudiced, and easily influenced against cities.)
OTOH, do we know how much testing was done on rural kids, applying the same stresses? The article talks of students from various sizes of cities, but doesn’t mention how many, if any, kids actually came from the country. (It just states that both were included in the testing.)
Also ““The divide between urban and rural is not that strong in Germany. You can go between city and country very quickly,” according to Meyer-Lindenberg. So it’s possible city stresses might not be uncommon to rural students — and would not be so easily differentiated in testing rural students.
And finally, the chicken-egg question: Which came first, mental problems or stress; did stress cause mental illness, or did mental illness exacerbate or precipitate the stress? (And I’m not sure where their conclusions will end up — as statistics on stress per se, or causes of mental illness?)
A coinkydinx-I was having the urban/rural discussion a few days ago..Most consider living in a urban area “better”. In the past,even a recently as the 1990s,there were some practical advantages to living in a urban area, but those are rapidly becoming fewer and fewer(communiations,medical facilities,availability of parts/supplies/groceries,jobs and so on). Now, it’s become much more of a personal choice. To me,living in some massive metropolis human habitrail sort of place would…not be first choice. For most of my life I lived in small town/rural areas,and where I’m at now has the highest population of any place I’ve lived in (about a quarter million),and I consider moving here one of the biggest mistakes I ever made, one I’m in the process of correcting(another step in this process takes place next week,when I’m on vacation). In some cities I’ve been in, you’d have to be loony to want to live there.
The biggest urban armpit I’ve ever been in was Jacksonville,Florida back in the 1970s-classic example of urban decay. You could’ve filmed a post-apocalyptic movie there..
When I moved across the country a decade ago to live in the Scranton PA area for a few years, I was with my then-wife in downtown and was watching all the people walking around. A good percentage of them seemed crazy to me. Some were actually reacting to things I couldn’t see. I asked her if she thought cities made people crazy or just attracted those who already were. I still wonder.