Abstract
Objectives Research to date indicates that parents and children residing in food insufficient homes incur a host of negative health outcomes. Recently, studies have suggested that these homes are also at risk of violence between family members. Our objective is to examine the link between household food insufficiency and physical violence in the home using a recent, nationally representative sample, and to determine whether family mental illness and/or substance misuse inform this association. Methods A sample of nearly 50,000 children and families from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health were employed in the study. Information concerning household access to food, experiences of violence between parents/adults, and associated mental health and substance use risk factors were available in the data. Logistic regression, employed in a hierarchical fashion, was utilized to analyze the data. Results Household food insufficiency was associated with an increased risk of children witnessing physical violence in the home, and this was especially pronounced in the case of moderate-to-severe food insufficiency. Findings also indicated that family mental illness and substance misuse partly attenuated this association and that household food insufficiency was more strongly associated with violence in the home in the absence of mental health and substance use risk factors. Conclusions for Practice Polices aimed at diminishing food insufficiency may have important collateral benefits in the form of reductions in family violence, and these benefits appear to extend to families that are otherwise at low risk of family violence.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alaimo, K., Briefel, R. R., Frongillo, E. A. Jr., & Olson, C. M. (1998). Food insufficiency exists in the United States: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). American Journal of Public Health, 88(3), 419–426.
Alaimo, K., Olson, C. M., & Frongillo, E. A. (2001). Food insufficiency and American school-aged children’s cognitive, academic, and psychosocial development. Pediatrics, 108(1), 44–53.
Althoff, R. R., Ametti, M., & Bertmann, F. (2016). The role of food insecurity in developmental psychopathology. Preventive Medicine, 92, 106–109.
Anderson, F., Howard, L., Dean, K., Moran, P., & Khalifeh, H. (2016). Childhood maltreatment and adulthood domestic and sexual violence victimisation among people with severe mental illness. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 51(7), 961–970.
Banach, L. P. (2016). Hospitalization: Are We missing an opportunity to identify food insecurity in children? Academic Pediatrics, 16(5), 438–445.
Bernal, J., Frongillo, E. A., & Jaffe, K. (2016). Food insecurity of children and shame of others knowing they are without food. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 11(2), 180–194.
Bocquier, A., Vieux, F., Lioret, S., Dubuisson, C., Caillavet, F., & Darmon, N. (2015). Socio-economic characteristics, living conditions and diet quality are associated with food insecurity in France. Public Health Nutrition, 18(16), 2952–2961.
Breiding, M. J., Basile, K. C., Klevens, J., & Smith, S. G. (2017). Economic insecurity and intimate partner and sexual violence victimization. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(4), 457–464.
Carter, K. N., Kruse, K., Blakely, T., & Collings, S. (2011). The association of food security with psychological distress in New Zealand and any gender differences. Social Science & Medicine, 72(9), 1463–1471.
Chilton, M., Knowles, M., & Bloom, S. L. (2017). The intergenerational circumstances of household food insecurity and adversity. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 12(2), 269–297.
Chilton, M., Knowles, M., Rabinowich, J., & Arnold, K. T. (2015). The relationship between childhood adversity and food insecurity:‘It’s like a bird nesting in your head’. Public Health Nutrition, 18(14), 2643–2653.
Chilton, M. M., Rabinowich, J. R., & Woolf, N. H. (2014). Very low food security in the USA is linked with exposure to violence. Public Health Nutrition, 17(1), 73–82.
Coleman-Jensen, A., Rabbitt, M., Gregory, C., & Singh, A. (2016). Statistical supplement to household food security in the United States in 2015, ERR-215. Washington, DC.
Corvo, K., & Carpenter, E. H. (2000). Effects of parental substance abuse on current levels of domestic violence: A possible elaboration of intergenerational transmission processes. Journal of Family Violence, 15(2), 123–135.
de Moraes, C. L., Marques, E. S., Reichenheim, M. E., de Freitas Ferreira, M., & Salles-Costa, R. (2016). Intimate partner violence, common mental disorders and household food insecurity: an analysis using path analysis. Public Health Nutrition, 19(16), 2965–2974.
Eaton, L. A., Pitpitan, E. V., Kalichman, S. C., Sikkema, K. J., Skinner, D., Watt, M. H., … Cain, D. N. (2014). Food insecurity and alcohol use among pregnant women at alcohol-serving establishments in South Africa. Prevention Science, 15(3), 309–317.
Eicher-Miller, H. A., Mason, A. C., Weaver, C. M., McCabe, G. P., & Boushey, C. J. (2009). Food insecurity is associated with iron deficiency anemia in US adolescents. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 90(5), 1358–1371.
Eicher-Miller, H. A., Mason, A. C., Weaver, C. M., McCabe, G. P., & Boushey, C. J. (2011). Food insecurity is associated with diet and bone mass disparities in early adolescent males but not females in the United States−3. The Journal of Nutrition, 141(9), 1738–1745.
Fram, M. S., Frongillo, E. A., Jones, S. J., Williams, R. C., Burke, M. P., DeLoach, K. P., & Blake, C. E. (2011). Children are aware of food insecurity and take responsibility for managing food resources. The Journal of Nutrition, 141(6), 1114–1119.
Gundersen, C., & Ziliak, J. P. (2015). Food insecurity and health outcomes. Health Affairs, 34(11), 1830–1839.
Hamelin, A. M., Beaudry, M., & Habicht, J. P. (2002). Characterization of household food insecurity in Quebec: Food and feelings. Social Science & Medicine, 54(1), 119–132.
Hecht, A. A., Biehl, E., Buzogany, S., & Neff, R. A. (2018). Using a trauma-informed policy approach to create a resilient urban food system. Public Health Nutrition, 21, 1961–1970.
Heflin, C. M., Siefert, K., & Williams, D. R. (2005). Food insufficiency and women’s mental health: Findings from a 3-year panel of welfare recipients. Social Science & Medicine, 61(9), 1971–1982.
Hernandez, D. C., Marshall, A., & Mineo, C. (2014). Maternal depression mediates the association between intimate partner violence and food insecurity. Journal of Women’s Health, 23(1), 29–37.
Huang, J., & Barnidge, E. (2016). Low-income children’s participation in the National school lunch program and household food insufficiency. Social Science & Medicine, 150, 8–14.
Huang, J., Barnidge, E., & Kim, Y. (2015). Children receiving free or reduced-price school lunch have higher food insufficiency rates in summer. Journal of Nutrition, 145(9), 2161–2168.
Jackson, D. B., Lynch, K. R., Helton, J. J., & Vaughn, M. G. (2018a). Food insecurity and violence in the home: Investigating exposure to violence and victimization among preschool-aged children. Health Education & Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198118760683.
Jackson, D. B., Newsome, J., Vaughn, M. G., & Johnson, K. R. (2018b). Considering the role of food insecurity in low self-control and early delinquency. Journal of Criminal Justice, 56, 127–139.
Jackson, D. B., & Vaughn, M. G. (2017). Household food insecurity during childhood and adolescent misconduct. Preventive Medicine, 96, 113–117.
Khalifeh, H., Oram, S., Trevillion, K., Johnson, S., & Howard, L. M. (2015). Recent intimate partner violence among people with chronic mental illness: Findings from a national cross-sectional survey. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 207(3), 207–212.
Kimbro, R. T., & Denney, J. T. (2015). Transitions into food insecurity associated with behavioral problems and worse overall health among children. Health Affairs, 34(11), 1949–1955.
Knowles, M., Rabinowich, J., De Cuba, S. E., Cutts, D. B., & Chilton, M. (2016). Do you wanna breathe or eat?”: Parent perspectives on child health consequences of food insecurity, trade-offs, and toxic stress. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20(1), 25–32.
Lee, S. E., Song, Y. J., Kim, Y., Choe, J., & Paik, H. Y. (2016). Household food insufficiency is associated with dietary intake in Korean adults. Public Health Nutrition, 19(6), 1112–1121.
Liu, J., Probst, J. C., Martin, A. B., Wang, J. Y., & Salinas, C. F. (2007). Disparities in dental insurance coverage and dental care among US children: The National Survey of Children’s Health. Pediatrics, 119(Supplement 1), S12–S21.
McLaughlin, K. A., Green, J. G., Alegría, M., Costello, E. J., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., & Kessler, R. C. (2012). Food insecurity and mental disorders in a national sample of US adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(12), 1293–1303.
Melchior, M., Caspi, A., Howard, L. M., Ambler, A. P., Bolton, H., Mountain, N., & Moffitt, T. E. (2009). Mental health context of food insecurity: A representative cohort of families with young children. Pediatrics, 124(4), e564–e572.
Muldoon, K. A., Duff, P. K., Fielden, S., & Anema, A. (2013). Food insufficiency is associated with psychiatric morbidity in a nationally representative study of mental illness among food insecure Canadians. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 48(5), 795–803.
Narain, K., Bean-Mayberry, B., Washington, D. L., Canelo, I. A., Darling, J. E., & Yano, E. M. (2018). Access to care and health outcomes among women veterans using veterans administration health care: Association with food insufficiency. Women’s Health Issues, 28(3), 267–272.
Pan, L., Sherry, B., Njai, R., & Blanck, H. M. (2012). Food insecurity is associated with obesity among US adults in 12 states. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112(9), 1403–1409.
Park, K., Kersey, M., Geppert, J., Story, M., Cutts, D., & Himes, J. H. (2009). Household food insecurity is a risk factor for iron-deficiency anaemia in a multi-ethnic, low-income sample of infants and toddlers. Public Health Nutrition, 12(11), 2120–2128.
Ratcliffe, C., McKernan, S. M., & Zhang, S. (2011). How much does the supplemental nutrition assistance program reduce food insecurity? American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 93(4), 1082–1098. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aar026.
Ricks, J. L., Cochran, S. D., Arah, O. A., Williams, J. K., & Seeman, T. E. (2016). Food insecurity and intimate partner violence against women: Results from the California Women’s Health Survey. Public Health Nutrition, 19(5), 914–923.
Riger, S., Bennett, L. W., & Sigurvinsdottir, R. (2014). Barriers to addressing substance abuse in domestic violence court. American Journal of Community Psychology, 53(1–2), 208–217.
Ryu, J. H., & Bartfeld, J. S. (2012). Household food insecurity during childhood and subsequent health status: The early childhood longitudinal study—Kindergarten cohort. American Journal of Public Health, 102(11), e50–e55.
Seligman, H. K., Laraia, B. A., & Kushel, M. B. (2009). Food insecurity is associated with chronic disease among low-income NHANES participants. The Journal of Nutrition, 140(2), 304–310.
Siefert, K., Heflin, C. M., Corcoran, M. E., & Williams, D. R. (2004). Food insufficiency and physical and mental health in a longitudinal survey of welfare recipients. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 45(2), 171–186.
Singh, G. K., Siahpush, M., & Kogan, M. D. (2010). Neighborhood socioeconomic conditions, built environments, and childhood obesity. Health Affairs, 29(3), 503–512.
Sun, J., Knowles, M., Patel, F., Frank, D. A., Heeren, T. C., & Chilton, M. (2016). Childhood adversity and adult reports of food insecurity among households with children. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(5), 561–572.
Weigel, M. M., Armijos, R. X., Racines, M., Cevallos, W., & Castro, N. P. (2016). Association of household food insecurity with the mental and physical health of low-income urban Ecuadorian women with children. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2016, 14.
Williams, P. L., MacAulay, R. B., Anderson, B. J., Barro, K., Gillis, D. E., Johnson, C. P., … Reimer, D. E. (2012). “I would have never thought that I would be in such a predicament”: Voices from women experiencing food insecurity in Nova Scotia, Canada. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 7(2–3), 253–270.
Zimmerman, G. M., & Posick, C. (2016). Risk factors for and behavioral consequences of direct versus indirect exposure to violence. American Journal of Public Health, 106(1), 178–188.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jackson, D.B., Johnson, K.R. & Vaughn, M.G. Household Food Insufficiency and Children Witnessing Physical Violence in the Home: Do Family Mental Illness and Substance Misuse Moderate the Association?. Matern Child Health J 23, 961–970 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-02725-w
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-02725-w