Trends in the Contribution of Perceived, Received, and Integrative Social Support to Food Security

Abstract

Social support (SocSp) is the perception and/or actuality of having assistance available from others and belonging to a supportive network. This study examines the potential contribution of perceived support (belief that one can count on others), received support (receipt of material goods), and integrative support (belonging to a community) to one's food security status. The Gallup World Poll (GWP), a nationally representative survey of adult individuals in 150 countries, incudes the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). Four questions related to SocSp were selected from the GWP questionnaire and analyzed to determine their relationship to respondents' food security. Respondents who answered “don't know” or “refused” to any of the eight items of the FIES were excluded from the analysis. Using data from 42 countries (approximate n=1000/country), 40.8% of the interviewees were categorized as food secure and 59.2% food insecure (which includes mildly, moderately and severely food insecure). Logistic regression models were developed and adjusted for income, country and area of residence, gender, education, age, and number of children in the household. The odds of being food insecure were significantly higher for those who did not perceive they had someone to count on locally (OR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.96, 2.27) or abroad (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.39) and for those dissatisfied with their ability to meet people (OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.43, 1.69). This research provides evidence of the contribution of perceived and integrative SocSp to food security. Moreover, it confirms the importance of distinguishing between types of SocSp for in‐depth understanding of the experience of food insecurity.