Food insecurity, psychosocial health and academic performance among college and university students in Georgia, USA

Abstract

Objective: To examine whether psychosocial health mediates the association between food insecurity and grade point average (GPA) among college and university students. Design: Data for the present study are from a longitudinal cohort study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed mediation hypothesis. Food insecurity was measured using the United States Department of Agriculture’s Six-Item Short Form. Psychosocial health was operationalized as a latent factor with three indicators: depression, anxiety, and hope. Validated scales were used to measure each indicator. GPA was self-reported. Setting: Seven colleges and universities in Georgia, USA Participants: Students between the ages of 18 and 25 were recruited via e-mail and surveyed every four months over a two-year period (analytic N=2,377). Results: Approximately 29% of students were food insecure. In the final SEM, food insecurity was associated with poorer psychosocial health (standardized β=0.22, SE=0.03, p<0.0001), and poorer psychosocial health was associated with a lower GPA (standardized β=−0.21, SE=0.03, p<0.0001). The indirect effect of food security status on GPA, as mediated by psychosocial health, was significant (standardized β=−0.05, SE=0.01, p<0.0001), and accounted for 73% of the total effect. After accounting for psychosocial health, the direct effect of food security status on GPA was not significant (standardized β=−0.02, SE=0.02, p=0.43). Conclusions: Psychosocial health may be an important mechanism through which food insecurity affects academic performance among college and university students. Multi-component interventions that address immediate food security needs as well as co-occurring mental health and academic concerns are needed to ensure student success.

Food Insecurity, Depression, and Race: Correlations Observed Among College Students at a University in the Southeastern United States

“…Regarding depression in this group of college students, nearly 20% of students surveyed had PHQ-9 scores suggestive of moderate to severe depression, highlighting the importance of access to mental health services on college campuses. A number of recent studies have indicated that depressive symptoms co-exist with food insecurity in college students [7,33,34], and here, we confirm and extend these findings. Our results suggest that the severity of food insecurity is associated with the severity of symptoms of depression.…”

“…When coupled with depression, these nutrition-related concerns may be exacerbated further by the common depressive symptoms that were found in this college student population such as poor appetite, overeating, feeling tired or having little energy, and trouble sleeping. These same symptoms of depression may also contribute to mediating the relationship between food insecurity and poor academic performance [34]. These results are also in line with findings from a 2020 study of graduate students in the northeastern United States which found that food-insecure graduate students faced significantly greater rates of depression, stress, and anxiety [38].…”

“…A strength of this study is the use of the USDA six-item screener which has a low subject burden, and because it is a validated and commonly used measure, results across studies can be more easily compared. A limitation of this study is that it did not measure student GPA, and there is some evidence that psychosocial health may be a mediator of the relationship between food insecurity and lower GPA in college students [34]. We additionally did not collect data on students' living situations or whether or not they receive any financial aid, both of which have previously been linked to food security risk [39].…”

Is the modified household food security survey (HFSS) questionnaire a practical tool for screening food insecurity? Evidence from northwest of Iran

“…Consistent with previous findings, our study revealed an association between FI and demographic and socio-economic status in the study population. Similar to some previous results [17,43,49], FI prevalence showed a significant positive correlation with household size, while there was a statistically significant negative association between FI and income, educational level, as well as the occupational position of the household head. In relation to the association between FI and BMI, several studies have found that FI is linked to BMI [19,34,[50][51][52].…”

WISH4Campus: Evaluating College Food Insecurity and Promoting Solutions for Student Wellbeing

“…The first followed freshman throughout their first year to investigate how food security status fluctuates and predictive factors [120]. The second tracked students across two years of college to examine pathways in which food insecurity may impact academic performance [221]. Although both studies provide an initial glimpse on the progression of food insecurity across time in college students and some potential mechanisms for the detriments caused by food insecurity, more work is needed.…”