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Title: FOOD SECURITY OF OLDER CHILDREN CAN BE ASSESSED USING A STANDARDIZED SURVEY INSTRUMENT

Author
item CONNELL, CAROL - DELTA NIRI
item NORD, MARK - USDA, ERS
item LOFTON, KRISTI - DELTA NIRI
item YADRICK, KATHY - DELTA NIRI

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/19/2004
Publication Date: 10/4/2004
Citation: Connell, C.L., Nord, M., Lofton, K.L., Yadrick, K. 2004. Food security of older children can be assessed using a standardized survey instrument. Journal of Nutrition. 134(10):2566-2572.

Interpretive Summary: An increasing number of scientific reports describe the adverse effects of food insecurity on children's nutritional status, and mental and physical health. During 2002 a significant number of households with children under 18 years of age reported to be food insecure, with some households experiencing food insecurity with hunger. Unfortunately the survey instrument available to collect such information does so at household level from an adult. A survey instrument is needed that can measure food security/insecurity as experienced and reported by individual children, in contrast to that reported by an adult for a household. To address this need cognitive interviewing methods were used to adapt questions from the adult-reported household survey instrument for administration to children. A survey instrument was developed that primarily measured food insecurity of individual children. Development of such a survey instrument that reliably measures food security status of individual children will provide researchers with an important research tool to assess more accurately the individual-level effects of food insecurity on nutritional status, and mental and physical health among children.

Technical Abstract: Cognitive interviewing methods were used to adapt questions from the U.S. Food Security Survey Module for administration to children. Individual concurrent probing techniques using standardized probes were utilized to assess understanding of the items with 20 African American children (10 Males, 10 Females, ages 11-13). Item wording and response sets were revised, and small groups of boys (n=5) and girls (n=14) aged 12-15 were asked to complete the nine-item survey. Retrospective probing techniques were then used to assess comprehension of items and response sets. Nine items were then piloted in a middle school using a self-administered format. Three hundred forty five surveys were returned. The majority of the students were between 12-15 years old (n=215). Scaling analysis of the 345 completed surveys using statistical methods based on the Rasch measurement model indicated that the module measured a single underlying phenomenon (food insecurity) with sufficient reliability to be a useful tool. The measurable range of food insecurity was about six times the estimated measurement error, indicating that the scale could identify three categories of food security with reasonable reliability. Overall fit of the response data to the Rasch model was similar for boys (n=174) and girls (n=171), but not for younger (age 9-11) versus older (age 12-15) children. A survey instrument that reliably measures food security status of individual children can provide researchers with an important tool to assess more accurately the individual-level effects of food security on nutritional status, mental and physical health among this population.