Appalachia's Children: The Challenge of Mental Health

This book is based upon the author’s experience providing clinical psychological services to 287 families in a four-county areas of Eastern Kentucky (Clay, Jackson, Lee and Owsley Counties) from 1964-1970. In addition to his clinical data on “psychologically disturbed” children, Loof collected data from 12 Appalachian families with children who showed no signs of psychopathology. Interviews and observations were conducted in the communities, at the homes of children, and at school. Finally, he collected mental health data from a nonAppalachian urban sample as a “control” group. Loof also relied extensively on Thomas Ford’s survey of Southern Appalachia and Jack Weller’s Yesterday’s People for general information about regional context. This evidence provided the basis for several conclusions about how childrearing practices and regional culture result in specific patterns of psychopathology. Specifically, he concluded that regional familism and childrearing practices explained the prevalence of certain types of psychological disorders (such as separation anxiety, phobia of school) and the absence of others (such as autism). He also provided several suggestions about improving mental health services in the region.