文章基本信息

标题：Understanding the Relationship between Food Security and Mental Health for Food-Insecure Mothers in Virginia
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作者：Rachel A. Liebe ; Leah M. Adams ; Valisa E. Hedrick 等
期刊名称：Nutrients
电子版ISSN：2072-6643
出版年度：2022
卷号：14
期号：7
DOI：10.3390/nu14071491
语种：English
出版社：MDPI Publishing
摘要：Food insecurity, which disproportionately impacts mothers, can have chronic consequences on physical and mental health. There is a relationship between food insecurity and mental health, but the relationship’s mechanisms are unclear. This study aimed to understand how mental health outcomes differ by food insecurity severity and race among Virginia mothers. A cross-sectional survey employed previously validated food security status measures, physical and mental health, social support, and food coping strategies. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank-order correlations, linear regression, and chi-squared with effect sizes. Overall, respondents ( n = 1029) reported worse mental health than the U.S. average (44.3 ± 10.1 and 50, respectively). There was a large effect of food security on mental health ( d = 0.6), with worse mental health outcomes for mothers experiencing very low food security (VLFS) than low food security (LFS; p < 0.001). There was a small effect of race on mental health (φ c = 0.02), with Black mothers having better mental health than White mothers ( p < 0.001). Compared to mothers experiencing LFS, mothers experiencing VLFS had less social support ( d = 0.5) and used more food coping strategies, especially financial strategies ( d = −1.5; p < 0.001). This study suggests that food-insecure mothers experience stressors and lack adequate social support, which is even more distinct for mothers experiencing VLFS.
关键词：enfood securitymental healthmaternal healthsocial support