ABSTRACT As family structures continue to evolve, understanding how communities perceive these changes and influences on youth engagement is important. This study examined community leaders’ perceptions of rural youth engagement as influenced by family structural changes. Fifteen rural community leaders were interviewed, and data were analyzed thematically. Three major themes emerged: familial influence on youth development, parents’ beliefs on structurally diverse homes, and community as a resource for youth engagement. Findings suggest that community leaders (a) perceived families as the primary influence in youth development (b) endorsed the view that non-nuclear families are broken, and (c) felt youth emerging from these family types are less motivated to engage in community life than their counterparts from nuclear family households. Community leaders predominantly assumed that family structure diversity was the strongest determinant of youth engagement within their community, without accounting for qualitative differences in resources provided to match youth interest.

中文翻译：

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家庭结构多样性：农村社区领袖的观点及其对青年参与的影响

摘要 随着家庭结构的不断发展，了解社区如何看待这些变化和对青年参与的影响很重要。本研究考察了社区领导人对受家庭结构变化影响的农村青年参与的看法。采访了 15 名农村社区领导人，并对数据进行了专题分析。出现了三个主要主题：家庭对青年发展的影响、父母对结构多样化家庭的信念以及社区作为青年参与的资源。调查结果表明，社区领袖 (a) 认为家庭是青年发展的主要影响因素 (b) 赞同无核家庭已经破裂的观点，并且 (c) 认为从这些家庭类型中脱颖而出的青年参与社区生活的积极性较低与来自核心家庭的同行相比。