Grandmothers, Fathers, and Depressive Symptoms Are Associated with Food Insecurity among Low-Income First-Time African-American Mothers in North Carolina

Abstract

African Americans experience household food insecurity, ie, the limited availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, or ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways, at three times the rate of non-Hispanic whites. Thirty percent of all African-American children live in food-insecure households. The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics associated with household food insecurity among a high-risk postpartum population. Two-hundred six low-income, African-American mother−infant dyads were recruited through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children clinics. The six-item US Department of Agriculture food security scale was used to classify households as food secure, marginally food secure, or food insecure. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the association between selected maternal/household characteristics and household food-security status. Fifty-three percent of households were food secure, 34% were marginally food secure, and 13% were food insecure. Maternal education less than college (relative risk ratio [RRR]=0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.22 to 0.98) was inversely associated with marginal food security. Depressive symptoms (RRR=1.09; 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.16) and having the baby's father in the household (RRR=3.46; 95% CI: 1.22 to 9.82) were associated with household food insecurity, while having a grandmother in the household (RRR=0.15; 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.80) was inversely associated with experiencing household food insecurity. Findings from this study suggest that young, low-income, African-American families with only one child are particularly susceptible to experiencing household food insecurity. Intergenerational support and transfer of knowledge can be a key protective attribute among low-income African-American households.