This thesis has as its aim the investigation of the sociopsychological orientation of the people living in Southern Appalachia. To determine the attitudes of self-orientation of the Southern Appalachians, the present study includes, at the nearest level, the family, and then progresses out to the community, the region and the society. It is proposed that in comparison to the urban population, the rural population has a more favorable attitude toward familism, localism, and regionalism; that is to say, residents of the rural area have the orientation to care more for their family than the collectivity (i.e., the community), and they desire to remain in the region
