Abstract
Background
The issue of food insecurity is one of growing concern among institutions of higher
learning in the United States. In addition to studies on the prevalence and risk factors,
research is needed to better understand the mechanisms by which food insecurity affects
students' health and well-being.
Objective
To critically explore the experience of food insecurity among college students and
its impact on psychosocial health and academic performance.
Design
In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with college students to gain a better
understanding of the mechanisms by which food insecurity affects their psychosocial
health and academic performance.
Participants/setting
Twenty-five undergraduate students from a large public university in California who
were recruited from a campus food pantry.
Results
Students discussed several themes related to the psychosocial effects of food insecurity:
the stress of food insecurity interfering with daily life, a fear of disappointing
family, resentment of students in more stable food and financial situations, an inability
to develop meaningful social relationships, sadness from reflecting on food insecurity,
feeling hopeless or undeserving of help, and frustration directed at the academic
institution for not providing enough support. Students also discussed how food insecurity
affected their academic performance through physical manifestations of hunger and
the mental trade-off between focusing on food and focusing on academics.
Conclusion
These findings contribute to the understanding of what it means to experience food
insecurity in higher education and can inform how universities support students’ basic
needs.
Keywords
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Biography
At the time of the study, A. Meza was an undergraduate student School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.
Biography
E. Altman is an associate clinical research coordinator, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA; at the time of the study, she was a master's student, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.
Biography
S. Martinez is an assistant researcher, Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Berkeley, CA.
Biography
C. W. Leung is an assistant professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor; at the time of the study, she was a postdoctoral scholar, Center for Health and Community, University of California, San Francisco.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 13, 2018
Accepted:
September 10,
2018
Received:
May 6,
2018
Footnotes
Supplementary materials: Figure 1 is available at www.jandonline.org.
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This work was supported by grant R25A124043 from the National Institute on Aging. C. W. Leung was additionally supported by grant 5K99 HD084758 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.
Identification
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© 2019 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
