Previous Coursework: HDFS

5950
HDFS 5950 is an applied research course. I participated in HRV
community research under the supervision of Dr. Assaf Oshri.
For this course, I was required to develop my own research
interest and to create a working annotated bibliography. Near
the end of the course, I was expected to create a presentation
that highlighted some of the key research from my project.
Through this assignment, I learned how to analyze research
literature and pull out the main points of the articles. I also
learned how to present my research in a very academic
manner. This assignment has helped to prepare me to analyze
research in my future occupation. I do not know what it is that I
want to do yet, but I will at least know how to break down
research articles and present them to people in a relatable way.

The Effects of Food

Insecurity on Childhood
Development
Whitney Watkins, 2016

Terms (USDA, 2015)

Food secure: These households had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy
life for all household members. !

Food insecure: At times during the year, these households were uncertain of having, or unable to
acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient
money or other resources for food. Food-insecure households include those with low food security
and very low food security. !

May also be referred to as food scarcity

Low food security: Obtained enough food to avoid substantially disrupting their eating patterns
or reducing food intake by using a variety of coping strategies, such as eating less varied diets,
participating in Federal food assistance programs, or getting emergency food from community
food pantries. !

Very low food security: Normal eating patterns of one or more household members were
disrupted and food intake was reduced at times during the year because they had insufficient
money or other resources for food.

U.S. Households with Children by Food Security

Status of Adults and Children (USDA, 2014)

Food Insecurity Versus

Physical Neglect

Food insecurity assumes that parents are making a substantial effort to obtain food

In many of the articles that I have read, it is assumed that, in food insecure families,
parents will forego eating in order to ensure that their children are able to have food

Food insecurity is often the result of poverty

Physical neglect assumes that parents are not making an effort to get food

One could argue, that in cases of maternal depression, food insecure children are
being neglected. However, one could also argue that food insecurity could be an
indirect factor in causing maternal depression.

This type of neglect can be present in any social class

It is important to be aware of the context in which food scarcity is present

Remember: Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model

(Psychology Notes HQ, 2016)

U.S. households with children are exposed

to nonpersistent and persistent food
insecurity (Burke, M.P., et. al., 2012)

Desired to quantify and describe how much food insecurity affects

children (kindergarten through eighth grade)

Hoped to discover the prevalence of nonpersistent and persistent food

insecurity as well as any potential disparities between different
populations (i.e., geographical, rural/urban, racial/ethnic)

Data gathered from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten

Believed number of children affected by food insecurity are

underestimated

Found that many U.S. households with children experience

nonpersistent and persistent food insecurity and that disparities do exist
between population groups

Overall, persistent food insecure children were more

likely to:

Live in persistent poverty

Have less-educated parents

Live in a single-parent household

Be a(n) racial/ethnic minority

Live in the West or the South

Live in a rural area or urban center

The researchers suggested that children do adapt

to food insecurity by eating only when they are
hungry (protective mechanism) which can be
developmentally risky:

More inclined to seek out more filling foods

Prone to overeating when there is more food

available

More likely to lead a more sedentary lifestyle

Children are aware of food insecurity and

take responsibility for managing food
resources (Fram, M.S., et. al., 2011)

Conducted semi-structured interviews with mothers,

children (nine to sixteen years old), and other household
adults in 26 South Carolina families at risk for food
insecurity

Family members interviewed separately

Wanted to know if children would be able and willing to

report on their own experiences of food insecurity

Concluded that children are indeed able and willing to

report on their experiences

Found that child food insecurity varies from adult food insecurity in both
its content and its context

Children's experiences differed from that of their parents because

they discussed food insecurity in terms of their direct experiences of
the household food environment

Children experience three different types of awareness of food

insecurity:

Cognitive- Knowledge that food is scarce and how their family

manages food problems!

Emotional - Feelings such as worry, sadness, and anger linked to

household food insecurity!

Physical - Physical feelings such as hunger, pain, tiredness, and

weakness that are associated with food scarcity

Fram, et. al. (2011), also found that children take

responsibility for managing food resources in
different ways:

Participation in parental strategies

Initiation of their own strategies

Generation of resources to provide food for the

family

Life course perspective: evidence for the

role of nutrition (Herman, D.R., et. al.,
2014)

Examined the importance of nutrition across the lifespan (preconception to adulthood)

using the life course perspective

Desired to reveal how the different factors (e.g., biological, social, psychological/
behavioral, and cultural) of the life course perspective are both affected and
determined by nutritional status

Argued that minorities, people from low SES backgrounds, and children with special
healthcare needs are at greater risk for poor health outcomes from inadequate
nutrition

Noted that food insecurity typically affects certain populations more than others:

Poverty-stricken communities

Certain races/ethnicities

Single mothers

Child outcomes of food insecurity include:

Poor health

Low academic achievement

Decreased intake of fruits/vegetables

Food insecurity can also negatively affect pregnant women:

Excess pregnancy weight gain

Increased risk for gestational diabetes

Overall, the researchers concluded that stress, psychological/social

disruption, and overall lack of resources are outcomes that are indirectly
related to food insecurity

Food insecurity affects school childrens

academic performance, weight gain, and
social skills (Jyoti, D.F., 2005)

Examined prospective sample of ~21k nationally representative children

that were entering preschool in 1998 and were followed until third grade

Divided into four groups:

Persistent food secure

Persistent food insecure

Became food secure

Became food insecure

Hypothesized that food insecurity is negatively correlated with the

cognitive, emotional, and physical development of early school-aged
children

Measured effects of food insecurity on

development by evaluating:

Academic performance - Mathematics and

reading

Weight gain and BMI

Social skills

The researchers found that the data for the girls

was significant for nearly all of the assessments,
while the data for the boys was significant only
some of the time

In the "became food secure" groups:

The girls exhibited positive gains in social skills

The boys experienced a decline in social skills

Transitions into food insecurity associated

with behavioral problems and worse overall
health among children (Kimbro, R.T., 2015)

Sampled 6,300 children in the ECLS-K 2010 - 2011

Nationally representative data

The children were part of households with incomes below 300%

of the federal poverty level and noted food insecurity transitions

Evaluated the influence of food insecurity transitions on:

Academic achievement

Behavioral problems

Health status of young children

Found significant evidence supporting the notion that food

insecurity transitions affect academic achievement in the
first grade

The children's teachers reported that these children were

consistently negatively affected by these transitions via:

Externalizing behaviors

Problems with self-control

Poorly developed interpersonal skills

Parents also reported that there were negative impacts on

their children's overall health status

Future Research

Effects of maternal food insecurity:

Low birth weight/premature births

Psychological well-being of mother

Ability to care for child

Physiological effect(s) on child

Qualitative research: Establish underlying behaviors that may affect development of childhood
overweight among families with uncertain and limited food availability and how these behaviors
may vary by sex

Longitudinal studies and comprehensive data

Gender-stratified studies

More nationally representative studies of children's reports of their experiences with food insecurity

Clinical Implications

Awareness of the context in which the child might be

suffering from food insecurity (poverty v. neglect)

Awareness that child may be exhibiting internalizing and/or

externalizing behaviors because they are suffering from a
lack of food

Awareness that children may be suffering in school because

they are not getting enough food

Incorporating public/social policies/programs for qualifying

families that ensure that children/families have enough food

References
Burke, M. P., Jones, S. J., Fram, M. S., & Frongillo, E. A. (2012). U.S. households with children are exposed to nonpersistent and
persistent food insecurity. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 7(4), 349-362.
Fram, M. S., Frongillo, E. A., Jones, S. J., Williams, R. C., Burke, M. P., DeLoach, K. P., & Blake, C. E. (2011). Children are aware of
food insecurity and take responsibility for managing food resources. The Journal of nutrition, 141(6), 1114-1119.
Herman, D. R., Baer, M. T., Adams, E., Cunningham-Sabo, L., Duran, N., Johnson, D. B., & Yakes, E. (2014). Life course perspective:
evidence for the role of nutrition. Maternal and child health journal, 18(2), 450-461.
Jyoti, D. F., Frongillo, E. A., & Jones, S. J. (2005). Food insecurity affects school childrens academic performance, weight gain, and
social skills. The Journal of nutrition, 135(12), 2831-2839.
Kimbro, R. T., & Denney, J. T. (2015). Transitions into food insecurity associated with behavioral problems and worse overall health
among children. Health Affairs, 34(11), 1949-1955.
The Psychology Notes HQ. (2016). [Graph illustration of Bronfenbrenners Ecological Systems Theory, 2016]. What is Bronfenbrenners
Ecological Systems Theory? Retrieved from http://www.psychologynoteshq.com/bronfenbrenner-ecological-theory/
United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. (2014). [Pie chart depicting U.S. households with
children by food security status of adults and children December, 2014]. Food insecurity in households with children:
prevalence, severity, and household characteristics, 2010-11. Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-inthe-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx