Beyond the Plate: the Role of Food Insecurity Trajectories in Shaping Child Emotional and Conduct Problems

The risk of child emotional and conduct problems elevates in the context of food insecurity. However, it is unclear whether these relationships could vary when considering the fact that food insecurity may change by time. Addressing this research gap can help clarify which specific patterns of food insecurity over time present the highest risk to children’s emotional and behavioral well-being, an important step forward to informing prevention efforts. Utilizing data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Main Study and Child Development Supplement, this study examines the associations between food insecurity trajectories and child emotional and conduct problems using negative binomial regression models applied with Growth Mixture Modeling. For causal inference, this study applies generalized propensity score weight. The results reveal that long-term food security is predictive of lowest risk of children’s emotional and conduct problems. This study also reveals that a high initial level of food insecurity is associated with higher risk of children’s emotional and conduct problems, even if such food insecurity improves across time. Moreover, their risk of developing emotional and conduct problems is as high as children who experience worsening food insecurity across time. These findings suggest that sustained food security acts as a protective factor for children’s emotional and behavioral health. For children facing food insecurity, early intervention and efforts to prevent further deterioration are both important to lower the risk of children’s emotional and conduct problems.