ARTICLE SUMMARY HEALTH & WELL-BEING
Household Food Insecurity and Parent-to-child Aggression Helton, J. J., Jackson, D. B., Boutwell, B. B., & Vaughn, M. G. (2019). Household food insecurity and parent-to-child aggression. Child maltreatment, 24(2), 213-221. Retrieved from Sage Journals database. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559518819141
Issue
Methology
Approximately 16.6% of American households with children are food insecure, with worsening rates for families living in poverty. Poverty as a risk factor for child maltreatment has almost exclusively been examined from a macro-level perspective. The present study explored the prevalence of household food insecurity and its association with caregiver maltreatment of children. Acknowledging potential confounding variables, the researchers controlled for possible confounding factors, including poverty, maternal depression, and parental impulsivity.
Data were drawn from the Fragile Families and Childhood Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). Briefly, the FFCWS sampled families with new births at randomly sampled hospitals from randomly sampled U.S. cities with populations larger than 200,000. Baseline data were collected within 48 hours of a child’s birth, with follow-up interviews conducted when the child was 1, 3, 5, and 9 years old. This analysis used data from waves 3 and 4 (i.e., ages 3 and 5; N = 2,330). Aggression The researchers examined aggression using several variables. Both psychological and physical aggression were assessed using five items each from the Conflict Tactics Scale. The researchers then created a total aggression score for each wave, combining the psychological and physical aggression scores into an ordinal scale (i.e., 0-2 acts = low aggression, 3-6 acts = moderate aggression, 7-10 acts = high aggression). Finally, the researchers created composite aggression scores Household Food Insecurity Three variables were created for food insecurity. Using the 18-item U.S. Food Insecurity Module, food insecure status was determined by whether or not a family responded affirmatively to three or more items (yes/no). The same 18-items were standardized and summed to create a food insecurity index, to better assess severity of food insecurity. Finally, food insecurity over time was measured as none, transient (food insecure at one wave only), or persistent (food insecure at both waves). Additional Variables Child covariates were also accounted for including race (White, African American, Hispanic); sex (male, female). Maternal Demographics included age and education level. Household income at wave 3 was included as five quintiles (i.e., range of 1-5). Maternal depression (yes/no) was determined using a combination of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form1 and follow-up questions. Maternal impulsivity was measured continuously based on a short version of Dickman’s impulsivity scale.2
Findings
Children in the sample were about five years old. Approximately half were African American and slightly more than half were male. The majority of mothers in the sample were approximately 25 years old with between a high school and some postsecondary education. Twelve percent met depression criteria and mean impulsivity scores were in the 50th percentile. Income was approximately $22,500 per year (i.e., 50th percentile). At wave three, 16% of families were food insecure. Across waves, 78% experienced no food insecurity, 6% experienced transient food insecurity, and 16% experienced persistent food insecurity. There was a significant bivariate relationship between food insecurity and aggression. Specifically, only 7% of families with no food insecurity reported high parental aggression, whereas 20% of families with persistent food insecurity did. Regression analyses found that both the being food insecure and the degree to which a household is insecure increased rates of psychological, physical, and total aggression. A composite measure of food insecurity across waves similarly predicted these increased rates. When maternal impulsivity and depression were added to the analyses, they too significantly increased total aggression scores.
HEALTH & WELL-BEING: a state of complete physical, social, and mental well-being that is the result of a combination of physical, social, intellectual, and emotional factors.
Implications
After controlling for important confounding variables, families with household food insecurity more often reported physical and psychological child aggression. The authors noted several significant limitations to their study (e.g., parent-reported data, household food insecurity focus versus parent food insecurity focus) and recommend that further research be conducted to examine the effects of food insecurity on child maltreatment. Researchers of the study urge that other variables be explored to explain the connection between household food insecurity and parental aggression. Specifically, they suggest exploring how the lack of access to adequate nutritious food can hinder proper brain development or promote chronic stress amongst parents. Food provision services (e.g., food pantries) may be a reasonable child maltreatment prevention effort and may be more feasible to implement than programs to address other poverty-related needs (e.g., lack of housing, employment). The authors also suggest increasing the uptake of government and community food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program.
1
Kessler (1998)
2
Dickman (1990)
HEALTH & WELL-BEING: a state of complete physical, social, and mental well-being that is the result of a combination of physical, social, intellectual, and emotional factors.