Growing up Hungry: The Impact of Food Insecurity on Behavior Problems in Young Children

• In Event: Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: PS 14 Topic -Diversity, Equity & Social Justice

Abstract

Introduction: Food insecurity (FI), or the limited or inconsistent availability of nutritious food, impacts almost one quarter of U.S. households with children (Coleman-Jensen, 2012). This metric of hardship may be more predictive of certain childhood outcomes than direct measures of poverty (Bhattacharya et al., 2004). Mounting evidence suggests that FI impacts children’s behavioral well-being, due in part to the psychological burden for children and families (Shankar et al., 2017). FI has been associated with increased internalizing and externalizing behavior problems (Shankar et al., 2017) by kindergarten. Concerningly, behavior problems can be persistent throughout development and associated with later psychopathology and academic difficulties (Arnold et al., 2012). To date, however, no studies have examined the relation between FI and behavior problems in early childhood (i.e., 0-3; Gill et al., 2018), a particularly sensitive time in development (Chilton et al., 2007). This study examined the early (age 1) and concurrent (age 3) relation of FI to age 3 behavior problems. We hypothesized that higher FI at ages 1 and 3 would predict greater behavior problems at age 3, even after controlling for several sociodemographic risk factors and early behavior problems.

Methods: Participants (N=760) came from the Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES; Vogel & Boller, 2015). Families were recruited when children were newborn or age 1, and followed annually until age 3. FI and sociodemographic covariates were measured via caregiver interviews. Covariates included: maternal risk composite (i.e., status on public assistance, current employment, less than HS education, teen and single motherhood), number of people in the household, income-to-needs ratio, financial insecurity (e.g., unable to pay bills), non-English household language, gender, and race/ethnicity. Behavior problems were measured with the Brief Infant and Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA; Briggs-Gowan & Carter, 2006). Longitudinal weighting and multiple imputation of behavior problems were used to account for attrition and a more accurate representation of the population.

Results: The model was significant and explained 21% of the variance (Table 1). Greater food insecurity at ages 1 and 3, maternal risk factors, and early behavior problems were associated with more behavior problems at age 3. Past and concurrent FI were associated with behavior problems over and above other relevant sociodemographic variables and prior behavior problems. Income-to-needs ratio, number of people in the household, financial insecurity, non-English speaking households, gender, and race/ethnicity were not predictive of behavior problems.

Discussion: These findings suggest both past and concurrent FI uniquely predict behavior problems in early childhood, even when controlling for age 1 behavior problems. Further, they were more critical in predicting behavior problems than other common metrics of socioeconomic risk. Given this evidence that FI is a critical risk factor as early as age 1, and the likely FI exacerbation due to the current global pandemic (Laborde, 2020), special consideration should be afforded to policies and programs to increase access to healthy food for families. Future research is needed to delineate potential mechanisms in this pathway and better understand how FI impacts other early childhood development.

Authors

• Monica Sofia Trevino, University of Missouri - Saint Louis
  Presenting Author

• E Cherry, University of Missouri-St. Louis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Emily D. Gerstein, University of Missouri-St. Louis
  Non-Presenting Author