The effect of the rural mystique on community attachment, community satisfaction, perceived influence in community decision-making, and self-reported engagement in community-oriented actions

Endorsement of the positive imagery of rurality and rejection of the negative representations of rural life is commonly referred to in the literature as the rural mystique. Using data collected in a 2012 survey of persons living in small and rural places in Texas, we tested the hypothesis that increased acceptance of the rural mystique is positively associated with community attachment, community satisfaction, perceived influence in community decision-making, and self-reported engagement in community-oriented actions. Bivariate and multiple correlation-regression analyses provided moderate support for our proposition. Rural and small-town residents’ endorsement of the rural mystique was associated with their levels of community attachment, community satisfaction, and perceived influence in community decision-making. Acceptance of the rural mystique was not statistically related to respondents’ self-reported engagement in community-oriented actions. The findings also revealed that certain sociodemographic variables are independently and statistically related to one or more of the four dependent variables.