Representations on wellbeing in agricultural environments – RURAL

Within the farming community itself, different groups are represented, facing different challenges at both a social and psychosocial level. Mental health is one of these in the agricultural world, in the face of changes in society and in the agricultural model (Cabanel & Férat, 2021). Mental health is understood as a state of well-being, enabling people to fulfil themselves and overcome the difficulties they encounter, while contributing to the life of their community (Paucsik et al., 2021). The positive mental health approach adopts an approach based on the resources and strengths that promote mental health, as opposed to a psychopathological approach (Paucsik et al., 2021).
It is with this perspective in mind that this collaborative project between a social health psychology laboratory and the Solidarités Paysans association will take the form of community-based research. The objectives are to explore the social representations of mental health in the agricultural world, as well as the psychosocial factors and resources favourable to quality of life and well-being within the communities concerned. Development opportunities and strategies for maintaining and/or improving mental health will also be investigated. From a more horizontal point of view, the aim will also be to develop and conduct community-based research in rural areas in order to propose concrete courses of action, including greater involvement of the population concerned in the implementation of these strategies. To this purpose, our consortium is building and wishes to conduct community-based research, with the target population, in order to initiate appropriate and innovative courses of action that cannot be imagined by researchers alone.
More specifically, each stage of the research will be designed and implemented by both the researchers and the members of a working group from the association as part of a community-based approach. Initially, the research will aim to explore the psychosocial resources conducive to mental health in the agricultural world. The project will then develop tools for adapting the actions and support provided by the association and other players in the field of social action in rural areas.