The cardinal objective of Project REDY was the development of a vocationally oriented, family centered educational program in a depressed rural area. However, before a workable educational program could be developed, the status quo of severely disadvantaged rural families had to be ascertained. In order to do this, the "Minnesota Survey of Opinion" was given to a random sample of 31 heads of household identified as being socially or economically disadvantaged and to 82 heads of households representing a cross-section of the population in a southern Illinois county. Scores were obtained on general adjustment (degree to which a person has adjusted to his environment) and total morale (assessment including attitudes toward personal inferiority, family, law, conservatism, and education). A general adjustment score was arrived at by comparing the negative and positive responses of the other 2 variables. Results indicated that the severely disadvantaged families had a significantly lower morale and poorer general adjustment than did the sample of the total population of families in the same geographic area. (LS)