Understanding stress factors in farming: A nationwide survey on occupational strain and mental health among Austrian farmers
Open accessAbstract
Situated at the intersection of ecological, economic, and social transformations, farmers operate within structurally embedded conditions with important implications for mental health. This study examines work-related stressors among Austrian farmers, exploring gender and age differences and their associations with mental health indicators, thereby addressing a gap in the European context. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 2006 Austrian farmers in autumn/winter 2024/2025. Participants rated 19 predefined work-related stressors and completed standardized instruments assessing depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), perceived stress (PSS-4), sleep disturbances (ISI-2), alcohol misuse (CAGE), and suicidality (SBQ-R). Qualitative data were collected via an open-ended question about further stressors. Bureaucracy/documentation was rated as the most burdensome stressor, followed by agricultural policy, price fluctuations, and high workload. Men reported higher stress from animal welfare activism, public pressure, and policy, whereas women reported higher stress from caregiving, physical labor, and generational conflicts. Younger farmers experienced more stress from financial concerns, workload, and generational conflicts than older farmers. While structural stressors, particularly those related to bureaucracy and agricultural policy, were perceived as most burdensome, stressors linked to resource depletion, such as financial strain, high workload, and social isolation, showed the strongest associations with impaired mental health. The findings highlight a distinction between perceived burden and psychological impact: stressors that threaten key resources within farmers’ livelihoods are more strongly associated with mental health outcomes than those experienced as administratively burdensome. This underscores the need for interventions that not only address structural conditions but also strengthen psychosocial resources within the socio-structural context of rural life. • Bureaucracy is the top stressor for farmers. • Mental health in farmers links to finances and isolation. • Men stress more over public pressure; women over caregiving and physical labor. • Younger farmers experience more stress from finances and workload.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x · Cited by 44,910 · see citing works
A Brief Measure for Assessing Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The GAD-7
Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092 · Cited by 31,765 · see citing works
The Job Demands‐Resources model: state of the art
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007) · Journal of Managerial Psychology · doi:10.1108/02683940710733115 · Cited by 12,996 · see citing works
Spitzer, R. L. (1999) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.282.18.1737 · Cited by 9,802 · see citing works
Morin, C. M., Belleville, G., Bélanger, L., & Ivers, H. (2011) · Sleep · doi:10.1093/sleep/34.5.601 · Cited by 4,620 · see citing works
Löwe, B., Decker, O., Müller, S., Brähler, E., Schellberg, D., Herzog, W., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2008) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/mlr.0b013e318160d093 · Cited by 4,527 · see citing works
The CAGE Questionnaire for Alcohol Misuse: A Review of Reliability and Validity Studies
Dhalla, S., & Kopec, J. A. (2007) · Clinical and investigative medicine · doi:10.25011/cim.v30i1.447 · Cited by 502 · see citing works
Key Risk Factors Affecting Farmers’ Mental Health: A Systematic Review
Daghagh Yazd, S., Wheeler, S. A., & Zuo, A. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16234849 · Cited by 393 · see citing works
Suicide by occupation: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Milner, A., Spittal, M. J., Pirkis, J., & LaMontagne, A. D. (2013) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.113.128405 · Cited by 387 · see citing works
Farming and Mental Health Problems and Mental Illness
Fraser, C. E., Smith, K. B., Judd, F. K., Humphreys, J. S., Fragar, L., & Henderson, A. J. (2005) · International Journal of Social Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0020764005060844 · Cited by 356 · see citing works
Grégoire, A. (2002) · Occupational Medicine · doi:10.1093/occmed/52.8.471 · Cited by 241 · see citing works
Knickel, K., Redman, M. E., Ika Darnhofer, A., Ashkenazy, A., Chebach, T. C., Šūmane, S., Tīsenkopfs, T., Zemeckis, R., Atkočiūnienė, V., Rivera, M., et al. (2017) · Journal of Rural Studies · doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.04.012 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Alston, M., & Kent, J. (2008) · Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1177/1440783308089166 · Cited by 213 · see citing works
Hagen, B. N. M., Albright, A., Sargeant, J. M., Winder, C. B., Harper, S. L., O’Sullivan, T. L., & Jones‐Bitton, A. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0225661 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Klingelschmidt, J., Milner, A. J., Khireddine-Medouni, I., Witt, K., Alexopoulos, E. C., Toivanen, S., LaMontagne, A. D., Chastang, J., & Niedhammer, I. (2017) · Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health · doi:10.5271/sjweh.3682 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Williams, N. (2014) · Occupational Medicine · doi:10.1093/occmed/kqu058 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
‘It's a lonely old world’: Developing a multidimensional understanding of loneliness in farming
Wheeler, R., Lobley, M., McCann, J., & Phillimore, A. (2022) · Sociologia Ruralis · doi:10.1111/soru.12399 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Social factors and Australian farmer suicide: a qualitative study
Perceval, M., Ross, V. L., Kõlves, K., Reddy, P., & Leo, D. D. (2018) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-018-6287-7 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Glaesmer, H., Kapusta, N., Teismann, T., Wagner, B., Hallensleben, N., Spangenberg, L., & Forkmann, T. (2018) · PPmP - Psychotherapie · Psychosomatik · Medizinische Psychologie · doi:10.1055/s-0043-118335 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Financial problems and health complaints among farm couples: Results of a 10-year follow-up study.
Gorgievski, M. J., Giesen, C. W. M., & Bakker, A. B. (2000) · Journal of Occupational Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/1076-8998.5.3.359 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Farmers Under Pressure. Analysis of the Social Conditions of Cases of Animal Neglect
Andrade, S. B., & Anneberg, I. (2013) · Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10806-013-9456-9 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Rudolphi, J. M., Cuthbertson, C., Kaur, A., & Sarol, J. (2024) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph21060684 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Whitaker, S. H. (2024) · Agriculture and Human Values · doi:10.1007/s10460-024-10586-z · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Bazo‐Alvarez, J. C., Bazalar-Palacios, J., Palacios, J. D. R. B., & Flores, E. C. (2022) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-064396 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Garner, I. W., McFeeters, D., Guy, A., Hopley, R., & Galbraith, N. (2025) · Journal of Rural Studies · doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103648 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Effects of masculine culture on the mental health of Northern Sotho male youth
Mogano, N. T. H., Letsoalo, D. L., & Oduaran, C. A. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-02934-3 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Pension provision in the farming sector – Lessons from Europe
Hlochova, H., McNally, B., Hayden, M. T., & Kinsella, A. (2025) · Journal of Rural Studies · doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103596 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Mazancová, K., Martinát, S., Pícha, K., & Navrátil, J. (2025) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/21582440251324756 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Piling on the pressure: Crime and stress in British farming
Smith, K. (2022) · International Journal of Rural Criminology · doi:10.18061/ijrc.v6i2.8754 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Guerrero, G. M. M., Herrera-González, F., Belmar, J. C., Alveal-Álamos, C., & Viscardi, S. (2023) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare11202726 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Between the Farm and Family: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Work–Family Conflict in Farmers in Ireland
O’Connor, S., O’Hagan, A. D., Casey, H., O’Connor, A., Creegan, M., Stapleton, A., McHugh, L., Russell, T., & O’Keeffe, S. (2025) · Agriculture · doi:10.3390/agriculture15151587 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Humer, E. C., Gächter, A., Pieh, C., Zeldovich, M., & Neubauer, V. (2025) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811118.2025.2552954 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Self-citationChilwalo, N. B., Rantho, K. M., & Matlakala, F. K. (2025) · Natural Hazards · doi:10.1007/s11069-025-07243-x · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Blanc, C., Oldbury-Thomas, D., & Morrissey, P. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17177677 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Ponkash, P., Savitha, G., Sruthi, E. S., & Silvester, S. A. J. (2025) · International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health · doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20250627 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Still being checked.
- Authors
- Humer, E., Schaffler, Y., Mracnay, B., Luttenberger, K., Pieh, C., & Neubauer, V.
- Affiliations
- Universität für Weiterbildung Krems (AT)
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (AT)
- Corresponding author
- Humer, Elke
- Venue
- Journal of Rural Studies
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2026-05
- Volume
- 124
- Pages
- 104163
- ISSN
- 0743-0167 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W7151540407
- Cited by
- 0
- References
- 35
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Rural Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Agriculture and Farm Safety
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Agriculture and Rural Development Research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Burnout
- Keywords
- farmer mental health, occupational stress, occupational stressors, agricultural policy, financial stress, workload, social isolation, gender differences, age differences, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, alcohol abuse, suicidality, caregiving, intergenerational conflict
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
