Neighborhoods, Relative Social Status, and Food Insecurity for Households with Young Children

• In Event: 4260 - Disadvantaged Local Contexts and Youth Well-being: Identifying Key Mechanisms

Abstract

In the United States, 1 in 5 households with children experience food insecurity, an inability to provide adequate nutrition for a healthy, active lifestyle. Neighborhood effects research shows potential in helping us understand disparities in child wellbeing but is often framed in absolute terms. We propose that relative social status of households with young children in their neighborhood of residence may better reveal who is suffering from food insecurity and where they are located. We examine household food insecurity for a nationally representative sample of children in families with incomes below 300 percent of the federal poverty line. Using three separate measures of relative social status—household to neighborhood poverty, child to neighborhood racial and ethnic identity, and parent to neighborhood educational attainment—we find that when children’s and their family’s characteristics are more congruent with the communities in which they live, they have lower odds of food insecurity.

Authors

• Justin T. Denney, Washington State University

• Mackenzie Brewer, Rice University

• Rachel Tolbert Kimbro, Rice University