ABSTRACT
Social researchers have paid little attention to kinship relations among rural populations. This is somewhat surprising in light of the great investment of research and theory in the study of urban kinship. This chapter focuses on studies that have compared urban and rural kinship patterns. One of the earliest and best empirical studies of the relationship between residence and interaction with kin was conducted by William Key. He analyzed a probability sample drawn from several midwestern communities and measured interaction with both the immediate and extended family. The children of urban residents are now able to find education and employment, in most cases, in their native cities. Rural children must more often leave their home areas in pursuit of economic and occupational success. Reported rural-urban differences in kinship interaction are quite inconsistent, almost uniformly small, and often attributable to factors other than residence.
