Aggression Among Male Migrant Farmworkers Living in Camps in Eastern North Carolina

The living and working arrangements of migrant farmworkers in North Carolina are shaped by grower provided housing, codified by the US Department of Labor's H-2A temporary worker program. Growers typically dictate all facets about residences, living conditions, and even food acquirements. Farmworker camps likely contribute to aggression because of the forced relationships among a small group of people that live, work and recreate together for extended time periods. Participants in the study consisted of 371 farmworkers living in 183 camps. The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale was used to assess aggression among migrant farmworkers. Results indicated that aggressive acts were prevalent among the farmworkers, but the frequency of aggressive acts was low. The most common aggressive act was minor psychological aggression. Results also indicated that alcohol misuse was a common characteristic for both victims and perpetrators and the majority of aggressive acts occurred later in the agricultural season.