Child hunger from a family resilience perspective
2018
Jones, Sonya J. | Draper, Carrie L. | Bell, Bethany A. | Burke, Michael P. | Martini, Lauren | Younginer, Nicholas | Blake, Christine E. | Probst, Jan | Freedman, Darcy | Liese, Angela D.
Eliminating food insecurity among children is a priority in the US, and research that focuses on the resilience and agency of families can help refocus our programs and policies. The Midlands Family Study was a cross-sectional study including 544 families that were food secure, food insecure, or experiencing food insecurity with child hunger that completed a survey interview between March 2012 and May 2013. Using the Family, Adjustment, Adaptation, and Response theory as our guide and multinomial logistic regression analyses, we found that negative life events, economic capabilities (income, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit levels), and social capabilities (support) were associated with food security status. For every additional $100 of income or SNAP benefits, the odds of the family having a child that experienced hunger in the past year were reduced by 6% and 9%, respectively. The results suggest families dealing with negative life events with inadequate income and social support are particularly vulnerable to child hunger. We did not find evidence to support that changing attitudes, strengthening faith, or reducing already low financial obligations affected food security status.
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