Prevalence and Predictors of Social Work Student Food Insecurity

ABSTRACT

Food security is an essential component of material wellness and social justice. This study draws on a 2013 survey of 496 students within a school of social work in a Pacific Northwestern U.S. public university to (a) provide the first estimate of the prevalence of food insecurity among social work students and (b) investigate coping strategies used and resources accessed by students. It was determined that 43% of students had experienced food insecurity in the preceding year. In addition, students in the BSW program, students of color, females, and first-generation college students were more likely to be food-insecure. Based on these findings, the article describes strategies for addressing the material and self-care needs of social work students and practitioners.     

Neighborhood poverty and children's food insecurity

Food insecurity among children and their families negatively affects children's health and well-being. While the link between household resources and food insecurity is well-established, family income alone does not explain food insecurity; neighborhood disadvantage, shown to affect other areas of children's development, may also play a role in food insecurity. This study examines associations between neighborhood poverty and children's food insecurity, and whether family characteristics account for identified associations. We merge data on kindergarten-age children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 2010–11 Cohort (ECLS-K:2011) with data on poverty rates from the American Community Survey (ACS) and on food access from the USDA's Food Environment Atlas using children's residential census tracts (N = 12.550 children in 3750 tracts). Using a series of multilevel models, we test for associations between neighborhood poverty, household economic, demographic, and parenting characteristics, and food insecurity at the child, adult, and household levels. Children living in higher-poverty neighborhoods are more likely to experience food insecurity than those in lower-poverty neighborhoods. Associations between neighborhood poverty and household- and adult-level food insecurity disappear when household characteristics are controlled. However, living in a very high poverty neighborhood remains predictive of child-level food insecurity, which may be an indicator of severe hardship. Findings indicate that neighborhood poverty may be a useful proxy to identify vulnerable children.     

Family Instability and Material Hardship: Results from the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation

This study used longitudinal, nationally representative data from the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation to explore how each of six sources of instability (employment shocks, household formation shocks, residential changes, income changes, household size changes, and disability shocks) impacted the key domains of material hardship (food insecurity and medical, housing and essential expense hardship). The study found that income shocks and having a person with a disability join the household were the only consistent triggers for all types of material hardship, and that overall, sources of instability had an asymmetrical impact on material hardship; that is, sources of instability did not help households when they were removed as much as they harmed households when introduced. These results provided a nuanced understanding of the household dynamics that result in economic and family instability in the US and provided new evidence regarding why some households were unable to cover basic needs.     

Food insecurity and housing instability in vulnerable families

Reducing the prevalence of household food insecurity has been a long-standing objective of the federal government. Previous research has found many negative consequences of food insecurity for families and households but has not examined its relationship with housing instability. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, difference-in-difference models show that food insecurity is associated with housing instability. The association remains statistically significant after accounting for potential selection and unobserved heterogeneity using propensity score matching and excluding households that experienced prior housing instability from the sample. Examining potential mediating factors, I find that material hardship explains about half of this association. These findings suggest that maintaining a strong social safety net would reduce the risk that families experience material hardship and housing instability, which may also reduce the risk of homelessness.     

Student debt and hardship: Evidence from a large sample of low- and moderate-income households

Student debt has risen in recent years as higher education costs have shifted to students and their families, particularly those with low-to-moderate incomes (LMI). Though a college degree continues to convey higher earnings, those who finance their degrees have lower net worth and greater financial difficulties than persons without student debt. We assess the relationship between student debt and material and health care hardship among a large sample (n = 5558) of LMI tax filers, using propensity score analysis to adjust for self-selection into student debt status and loan amount and monthly payment quartiles. We find that participants with student debt have a higher likelihood of hardship. Loan amounts only partially predict hardship, and borrowers making current loan payments are at lower odds for hardship than non-payers. We also find that among those with student debt, non-payers and those without college degrees have much greater social and economic disadvantages.     

Determining risk for child physical harm through the classification of economic insecurity

Children in economically insecure families are more likely to experience physical harm compared with children in economically secure families. It is unclear, however, if particular combinations of economic insecurity are more or less predictive of child physical harm. This study aimed to 1) identify and describe the prevalence of distinct combinations, or classes, of economic insecurity (public and private income transfers, bill-paying, housing, food, and medical hardships), 2) and to associate these classes with child physical harm (spanking, hitting, slapping, shaking, pinching). We employed latent class analysis with age 5 data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (N = 4133), finding that four latent classes of economic insecurity differentially predict the prevalence and chronicity of physical harm behaviors. Mothers who reported hardship perpetrated more child physical harm than mothers who received income transfers but reported no hardship. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.     

Creating a community of practice among college campus food pantry directors in Michigan

There is increased awareness of hunger and food insecurity on college campuses. Recent estimates suggest that food insecurity affects as many as 4 out of 10 college students. As a result, over 650 US colleges have established campus food pantries. The College and University Pantries (CUP) research team at the University of Michigan–Dearborn has worked to create a community of practice in Michigan among campus pantry directors by hosting 2 summits designed around networking, problem-solving, and sharing best practices. This article describes the Michigan community of practice as an example for other regions doing similar work.     

Perceived family economic hardship and student engagement among junior high schoolers in Ghana

Research has shown that several factors influence student engagement, but little is known about the predictive role of family economic hardships on student engagement, particularly in the sub-Saharan African context. This study used data from junior high school students in Ghana to examine the association between perceived family economic hardship and students' classroom engagement, and the intervening role of future intentions. The structural equation modeling results indicate that perceived economic hardship is associated with behavioral engagement in school in two ways. The first is the direct positive link from perceived economic hardship to engagement (i.e., the motivational pathway). The second is a more nuanced channel whereby perceived economic difficulties are negatively associated with students' participation in academic work, but only through the inconsistent mediating (suppression) role of students' future intentions (i.e., the demoralizing pathway). The nuanced psychological and behavioral outcomes suggest the need for programs that cultivate educational resilience among young people.     

Pathways into Bankruptcy: Accumulating Disadvantage and the Consequences of Adverse Life Events

This study combines theories of accumulating disadvantage and economic insecurity using the event of bankruptcy to investigate how certain adverse life events jointly affect inequality. I analyze National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data from 1985 through 2008 to highlight the complexities of financial hardship in the path to bankruptcy. By applying hybrid mixed effects models to parse out within‐ and between‐person variation, I show that, in the case of bankruptcy, financial hardship unfolds over a specific series of events, which can lead to the accumulation of disadvantage connected to changes in employment, marital, and health statuses. I find that bankruptcy results from people's recent experiences of illness and marital dissolution, but not always directly from employment disruption. The effects of job loss on bankruptcy become more apparent as these events accumulate over time and limit wealth creation. The timing of events and their relationship with net worth also influence when a person will file for bankruptcy. As a whole, my findings demonstrate how adverse events and financial hardship lead to bankruptcy through multiple pathways.     

Peer support and food security in deaf college students

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate whether peer support and demographic characteristics predicted food security among deaf college students. Participants: The sample included 166 deaf college students at Gallaudet University. Methods: Participants completed a bilingual online survey in American Sign Language (ASL) and English. This survey included USDA’s 6-item food security survey, questions about peer support and socio-demographic characteristics. Results: Out of 166 students (mean age =23; SD?=?6), 60.7% were food secure. About 26.4% were at-risk for low food security and another 12.9% had very low food security. The sample included respondents who identified as people of color (54%) and women (52%). Binary logistic regression revealed that compared to people who reported always receiving peer support, people who never received peer support were 16.3 times more likely to experience food insecurity (adj OR: 16.325, 95% CI 1.824–146.107). Conclusions: This study demonstrates a strong relationship between peer support and deaf college students' food security experiences.     

Does It Cost Less to Live in Rural Areas? Evidence from New Data on Food Security and Hunger*

Abstract Rural‐urban differences in the association of food insecurity and hunger with income suggest that the cost of living is substantially lower in rural than in urban areas. This implies that the official poverty rate overstates rural economic hardship compared with that in urban areas. Geographic differences in cost of living implied by the association between food insecurity and income provide some validation of the cost of housing adjustment proposed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel on improving the measurement of poverty, but suggest that the NAS adjustment generally overcorrects for cost of living and would be seriously problematic in some regions.     

Food Security at Whose Expense? A Critique of the Canadian Temporary Farm Labour Migration Regime and Proposals for Change

Temporary farm labour migration schemes in Canada have been justified on the premise that they bolster food security for Canadians by addressing agricultural labour shortages, while tempering food insecurity in the Global South via remittances. Such appeals hinge on an ideology defining migrants as racialized outsiders to Canada. Drawing on qualitative interviews and participant observation in Mexico, Jamaica and Canada, we critically analyse how Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program is tied to ideological claims about national food security and agrarianism, and how it purports to address migrant workers’ own food insecurity. We argue remittances only partially, temporarily mitigate food insecurity and fail to strengthen migrant food sovereignty. Data from our clinical encounters with farm workers illustrate structural barriers to healthy food access and negative health consequences. We propose an agenda for further research, along with policies to advance food security and food sovereignty for both migrants and residents of Canada.     

FOOD ASSISTANCE THROUGH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM

Numerous public and private initiatives in the United States work to mitigate food insecurity and its unwelcome repercussions for children's health and well-being. An increasingly popular program, the Food For Kids program originated by the Arkansas Rice Depot, seeks to reduce hunger among school-aged children by distributing ready-to-eat food in backpacks for participating students to take home for evening and weekend meals. This study assesses reasons for participation in the program and its impact on school-level indicators of student behavior and academic performance. Sample statistics from unique surveys made available by the Arkansas Rice Depot, a faith-based food bank, indicate that some parents cannot or do not properly feed their children due to insufficient economic means, illness, drug addiction, or a lack of willingness. The analysis also finds improvements in participating students’ self-esteem and behavior at school. Additional results from fixed effects regressions using school report-card data indicate a positive and significant program impact on eighth-grade standardized test scores in math and literacy.     

Using Experiential Learning to Help Students Understand the Impact of Food Insecurity

Experiential learning theory suggests that students increase their understanding when given the opportunity to experience a particular situation in addition to learning about it intellectually. This theory was used to construct an assignment to assist social work master’s students in better understanding food insecurity and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Through coding previously collected reactions to the assignment, the researchers discovered multiple reoccurring themes: increased understanding of SNAP, feelings about the program, realizations regarding individual privilege, client stigma, the social experience of eating, and empathy for those who experience food insecurity. Through this exercise, students increased their knowledge of the program and also gained a better understanding of how food insecurity personally affects individuals and families.     

Emergency Saving and Household Hardship

Households with limited income and wealth often struggle to access the financial liquidity needed to address unexpected expenses or income drops. Emergency savings can act as form of insurance against such economic shocks and reduce the risk of hardships that influence family wellbeing. Prior research has established that threshold amounts of liquid assets can reduce the risk of economic hardship. This study used a measure of self-reported emergency saving behavior to examine whether households who reported saving for emergencies were less likely to experience subsequent economic hardships in a longitudinal sample of households in disadvantaged neighborhoods from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections project. Results across a range of regression models suggest that households who saved for emergencies experienced slightly less overall hardship and were less likely to report several specific hardships, such as food insecurity and having a phone disconnected, three years later. This study supports the idea that small, unrestricted savings may play a protective role for low-income households.     

The Receipt of Government Food Assistance: Differences Between Metro and Non-Metro Households

This research investigated differences in households’ receipt of government food assistance through such programs as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; free and reduced school meals; and related local and/or federal programs. With panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation that span the Great Recession, differences in the receipt of government food assistance in metro and non-metro areas were identified. Longitudinal random effects models suggest that despite relatively similar levels of food insecurity in 2005 and 2010, a higher proportion of non-metro households received government food assistance. Results also suggest that this assistance gap widened post-recession when government resources were expanded. These results inform a continuing debate about the efficient allocation of resources intended to reduce food hardship disparities, and increase family economic well-being, in metro and non-metro areas.     

Poverty and Material Hardship in Grandparent‐Headed Households

Using the 2001 Survey of Income and Program Participation, the current study examines poverty and material hardship among children living in 3‐generation (n = 486), skipped‐generation (n = 238), single‐parent (n = 2,076), and 2‐parent (n = 6,061) households. Multinomial and logistic regression models indicated that children living in grandparent‐headed households experience elevated risk of health insecurity (as measured by receipt of public insurance and uninsurance)—a disproportionate risk given rates of poverty within those households. Children living with single parents did not share this substantial risk. Risk of food and housing insecurity did not differ significantly from 2‐parent households once characteristics of the household and caregivers were taken into account.     

When the Kids Live at Home: Coresidence,Parental Assets,and Economic Insecurity

This study uses National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort data from 1994 through 2012 (N = 16,108 person‐years, 4,671 individuals) to investigate how coresidence with adult children influences asset levels among parents. It applies hybrid mixed effects regression models that partition between‐ and within‐person variation to estimate parental savings and financial assets over time and across different households. The results suggest that coresidence with adult children led to decreases in parental assets and savings. In the years in which their children lived at home, parents held 24% less in financial assets and 23% less in savings when compared with the years when adult children were not present. By expanding previous research that shows a relationship between increasing economic insecurity, limited wealth, and the rise in coresidence among young adults, this study also offers broader implications for the interconnectivity of financial hardship across generations.     

Turnover as a Strategy to Escape Job Insecurity: The Role of Family Determinants in Dual-Earner Couples

Job insecurity is a stressful condition with well-known negative consequences. This study investigated the extent to which individuals voluntarily changed jobs as a strategy to cope with job insecurity, taking into account the family context. We tested whether job insecurity promoted voluntary turnover. Family factors were expected to either hamper or stimulate turnover, and to affect the relationship between job insecurity and turnover. Using longitudinal data from the Swiss Household Panel (2004–2013), we showed that men facing job insecurity were more likely to experience voluntary turnover. For women this was only true when they did not have preschool-aged children at home and experienced low levels of economic hardship. Moreover, family factors influenced voluntary turnover differently for men and women: Economic hardship increased the odds of voluntary turnover for men, whereas a partner’s job insecurity lowered the odds for women.     

Does SNAP serve as a safety net for mothers facing an economic shock? An analysis of Black and White unwed mothers' responses to paternal imprisonment

In an era of increasing economic insecurity and declining welfare assistance, scholars and policy makers have increasingly recognized the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps) as an important safety net for disadvantaged families facing a loss of income. Research on welfare and race has found that SNAP use is more frequent among Black families than White families. However, scholars have overlooked another potential source of race-based variation in the use of SNAP: differences in how Black and White mothers use SNAP as a safety net when facing an economic shock such as fathers' imprisonment. Analyses using difference-in-difference-in-difference methods suggest that while Black mothers generally receive a higher level of SNAP benefits than White mothers, SNAP benefit increases following fathers' imprisonment are less effective in compensating for the loss of income among Black mothers than among White mothers. Additional analyses, including a propensity score matching model, produce consistent results. The racial difference in income shock to families caused by paternal imprisonment does not account for this racial disparity. These findings highlight an important mechanism through which an income shock such as paternal imprisonment can produce particularly negative consequences for Black children.