Food Insecurity and Adjustment Problems in a National Sample of Adolescents1

Abstract

This study examined a structural equation model of the associations among food insecurity, parental emotional distress, quality of parenting, and adolescents' adjustment problems, controlling for socioeconomic status (SES), sex, and race/ethnicity. Additionally, we examined the relative effects of food insecurity, SES, parental emotional distress, and quality of parenting on adjustment problems. A sample of 11,139 12 Á17-year-olds selected from the 2002 National Survey of American Families data set were used. The results revealed the following: first, the model exhibited a reasonable fit to the data. Second, heightened food insecurity was associated with increased parental emotional distress, poor quality of parenting, and increased adjustment problems. Third, increased parental emotional distress was associated with poor quality of parenting and with higher levels of adjustment problems; and better quality of parenting was associated with lower levels of adjustment problems. Fourth, food insecurity had an indirect effect on adjustment problems through its effect on parental emotional distress and quality of parenting. Finally, parental emotional distress and quality of parenting had stronger total effects on adjustment problems than did food insecurity. The implications of these findings for policy are also discussed.

Children's Health Status: Examining the Associations among Income Poverty, Material Hardship, and Parental Factors

“…In a qualitative study, Hamelin, Habicht, and Beaudry [41] found that food insecurity results in disrupted household dynamics evidenced by parental irritability, anger, parental unavailability, and conversation gap with children. Similarly, Ashiabi and O'Neal [42] found that higher levels of food insecurity predicted heightened parental depression, and a reduction in positive parenting behaviors.…”

“…Drawing on the family economic stress framework [7] , [9] which suggests that income poverty affect children by limiting their access to material resources, and indirectly by increasing parental depressive symptoms and poor quality parenting, we argue that income poverty and material hardship will be associated with parental depression and parenting behaviors. We contend that income poverty and material hardship may elevate levels of parental depression [8] , [31] , [37] , [40] and adversely affect quality of parenting behaviors [8] , [41] , [42] , and ultimately child health [52] .…”

A Framework for Understanding the Association Between Food Insecurity and Children’s Developmental Outcomes

“…In adolescence, food insufficiency has been associated with being suspended from school, having difficulty with other children, having seen a psychologist (Alaimo, Olson, & Frongillo, 2001), increased incidences of socioemotional problems (Ashiabi & O’Neal, 2007), and reports of dysthymia, thoughts of death, desires to die, and suicide attempts among teens (Alaimo, Olson, & Frongillo, 2002). Children’s socioemotional problems or distress may arise through biological mechanisms, such that food insecurity causes or maintains negative affect and depressed mood (Garner, 1997), or it may be a direct function of anxiety about lack of food.…”

Youth Subjective Social Status (SSS) is Associated with Parent SSS, Income, and Food Insecurity but not Weight Loss Among Low‐Income Hispanic Youth

“…Given previous research indicating that psychosocial factors predict SSS in adults, we further hypothesize that food insecurity is positively associated with youth SSS. Food insecurity has been associated with adverse physical and psychosocial development issues among youth and emotional distress among parents . Additionally, food insecurity is often accompanied by obesity and is more prevalent in Hispanic households than in non‐Hispanic white households .…”