In an effort to test certain aspects of Oscar Lewis's "Culture of Poverty Theory" in the rural South, an investigation was made of the differences in participation patterns of the rural poor, those factors associated with participation patterns of the rural poor, and the relationship between the social participation patterns of one generation and the mobility of the next generation. Applying the Gamma measure of association, the completed interview schedules of 110 Mississippi (Kemper County) household heads (36 white and 74 black) and their adult children (218 black and 139 white) were analyzed. In the first part of the analysis, the high, moderate, and low participation scores of household heads were treated as dependent variables and age, income, education, geographic mobility potential, home tenure status, and sex as independent variables. In the second part of the analysis, the years of education of adult children and the geographic distance they had moved were treated as dependent variables, while the community participation scores of their parents constituted the independent variable. Results indicated household heads who participated most beyond the nuclear family had children who: showed greater mobility potential; were better educated; and moved greater geographic distances away from home. (JC)