Review of Economics of the Household

, Volume 16, Issue 2, pp 255–273 | Cite as

Food insecurity and housing instability in vulnerable families

Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Reducing the prevalence of household food insecurity has been a long-standing objective of the federal government. Previous research has found many negative consequences of food insecurity for families and households but has not examined its relationship with housing instability. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, difference-in-difference models show that food insecurity is associated with housing instability. The association remains statistically significant after accounting for potential selection and unobserved heterogeneity using propensity score matching and excluding households that experienced prior housing instability from the sample. Examining potential mediating factors, I find that material hardship explains about half of this association. These findings suggest that maintaining a strong social safety net would reduce the risk that families experience material hardship and housing instability, which may also reduce the risk of homelessness.

Keywords

Food insecurity Housing instability Material hardship Consumption Poverty 

Mathematics Subject Classification

I30 I32 J38 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Greg Lewis and Sara Markowitz for their helpful comments and suggestions on an early draft. I am very grateful for comments and suggestions provided by two anonymous reviewers and the co-editor (Prof. George Davis), which greatly improved the version originally submitted. Access to the contract data was provided by the Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study was funded by Grant R01 HD36916 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and a consortium of private foundations.

References

  1. Acs, G., & Loprest, P. (2004). Leaving welfare: Employment and well-being of families that left welfare in the post-entitlement era. Kalamaoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Alpert, J. E., & Fava, M. (1997). Nutrition and depression: The role of folate. Nutrition Reviews, 55(5), 145–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Bassuk, E. L., Buckner, J. C., Weinreb, L. F., Browne, A., Bassuk, S. S., Dawson, R., & Perloff, J. N. (1997). Homelessness in female-headed families: Childhood and adult risk and protective factors. American Journal of Public Health, 87(2), 241–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Borjas, G. J. (2004). Food insecurity and public assistance. Journal of Public Economics, 88(7–8), 1421–1443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Bratt, R. G. (2002). Housing and family well-being. Housing Studies, 17(1), 13–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Burgard, S. A., Seefeldt, K. S., & Zelner, S. (2012). Housing instability and health: Findings from the Michigan recession and recovery study. Social Science and Medicine, 75(12), 2215–2224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Cole, D. A., & Maxwell, S. E. (2003). Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: Questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112(4), 558–577.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Coleman-Jensen, A., Nord, M., & Singh, A. (2015). Household food security in the United States in 2014. USDA Economic Research Report No 194. Washington, DC.Google Scholar
  9. Corcoran, M. E., Heflin, C. M., & Siefert, K. (1999). Food insufficiency and material hardship in post-TANF welfare families. Ohio St. Law Journal, 60, 1395–1422.Google Scholar
  10. Corman, H., Curtis, M. A., Noonan, K., & Reichman, N. E. (2016). Maternal depression as a risk factor for children’s inadequate housing conditions. Social Science and Medicine, 149, 76–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Curtis, M., Corman, H., Noonan, K., & Reichman, N. (2014). Maternal depression as a risk factor for family homelessness. American Journal of Public Health, 104(9), 1664–1670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Eyrich, K. M., Pollio, D. E., & North, C. S. (2003). An exploration of alienation and replacement theories of social support in homelessness. Social Work Research, 27(4), 222–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Fertig, A. R., & Reingold, D. A. (2008). Homelessness among at risk families with children in twenty American cities. Social Service Review, 82(3), 485–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Furness, B. W., Simon, P. A., Wold, C. M., & Asarian-Anderson, J. (2004). Prevalence and predictors of food insecurity among low-income households in Los Angeles County. Public Health Nutrition, 7(06), 791–794.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Geller, A., & Franklin, A. W. (2014). Paternal incarceration and the housing security of urban mothers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(2), 411–427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Gundersen, C., Weinreb, L., Wehler, C., & Hosmer, D. (2003). Homelessness and food insecurity. Journal of Housing Economics, 12(3), 250–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Gundersen, C., & Ziliak, J. P. (2014). Childhood food insecurity in the U.S.: Trends, causes, and policy options. The Future of Children, 24(2), 1–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Gundersen, C., & Ziliak, J. P. (2015). Food insecurity and health outcomes. Health Affairs, 34(11), 1830–1839.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Hadley, C., & Patil, C. L. (2006). Food insecurity in rural Tanzania is associated with maternal anxiety and depression. American Journal of Human Biology, 18(3), 359–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Harknett, K. S., & Hartnett, C. S. (2011). Who lacks support and why? An examination of mothers’ personal safety nets. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73(4), 861–875.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
  22. Heckman, J. J., Ichimura, H., & Todd, P. E. (1997). Matching as an econometric evaluation estimator: Evidence from evaluating a job training programme. The Review of Economic Studies, 64(4), 605–654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Heckman, J. J., Ichimura, H., & Todd, P. (1998). Matching as an econometric evaluation estimator. The Review of Economic Studies, 65(2), 261–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Heflin, C. (2006). Dynamics of material hardship in the women’s employment study. Social Service Review, 80(3), 377–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. 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 and Medicine, 61(9), 1971–1982.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Huddleston-Casas, C., Charnigo, R., & Simmons, L. A. (2009). Food insecurity and maternal depression in rural, low-income families: A longitudinal investigation. Public Health Nutrition, 12(08), 1133–1140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Mroczek, D., Ustun, B., & Wittchen, H.-U. (1998). The World Health Organization composite international diagnostic interview short-form (CIDI-SF). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 7(4), 171–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Kreider, B., Pepper, J. V., Gundersen, C., & Jolliffe, D. (2012). Identifying the effects of SNAP (food stamps) on child health outcomes when participation is endogenous and misreported. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 107(499), 958–975.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Kushel, M. B., Gupta, R., Gee, L., & Haas, J. S. (2006). Housing instability and food insecurity as barriers to health care among low-income Americans. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21(1), 71–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Lee, W.-S. (2013). Propensity score matching and variations on the balancing test. Empirical Economics, 44(1), 47–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Lee, B. A., & Greif, M. J. (2008). Homelessness and hunger. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 49(1), 3–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Lee, B. A., Tyler, K. A., & Wright, J. D. (2010). The new homelessness revisited. Annual review of sociology, 36, 501–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Ma, C. T., Gee, L., & Kushel, M. B. (2008). Associations between housing instability and food insecurity with health care access in low-income children. Ambulatory Pediatrics, 8(1), 50–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Mabli, J., Cohen, R., Potter, F., & Zhao, Z. (2010). Hunger in America 2010 National report prepared for feeding America. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research.Google Scholar
  35. MacKinnon, D. P., Fairchild, A. J., & Fritz, M. S. (2007). Mediation analysis. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 593.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Masten, A. S., Sesma, A, Jr, Si-Asar, R., Lawrence, C., Miliotis, D., & Dionne, J. A. (1997). Educational risks for children experiencing homelessness. Journal of School Psychology, 35(1), 27–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Meyers, A., Cutts, D., Frank, D. A., et al. (2005). Subsidized housing and children’s nutritional status: Data from a multisite surveillance study. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 159(6), 551–556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Mills, G., & Hanson, K. (2013). Coping strategies for households at risk of childhood hunger: Final Report submitted to the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.Google Scholar
  39. Oreopoulos, P., Stabile, M., Walld, R., & Roos, L. L. (2008). Short-, medium-, and long-term consequences of poor infant health: An Analysis using siblings and twins. Journal of Human Resources, 43(1), 88–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Park, J. M., Fertig, A. R., & Metraux, S. (2011). Changes in maternal health and health behaviors as a function of homelessness. Social Service Review, 85(4), 565–585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Phinney, R., Danziger, S., Pollack, H. A., & Seefeldt, K. S. (2007). Housing instability among current and former welfare recipients. American Journal of Public Health, 97(5), 832–837.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Pilkauskas, N. V., Garfinkel, I., & McLanahan, S. (2014). The prevalence and economic value of doubling up. Demography, 51, 1667–1676.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Rafferty, Y., Shinn, M., & Weitzman, B. C. (2004). Academic achievement among formerly homeless adolescents and their continuously housed peers. Journal of School Psychology, 42(3), 179–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Reynolds, E. H. (2002). Folic acid, ageing, depression, and dementia. BMJ, 324(7352), 1512–1515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1983). The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 70(1), 41–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1985). Constructing a control group using multivariate matched sampling methods that incorporate the propensity score. The American Statistician, 39(1), 33–38.Google Scholar
  47. Ross, L. M., & Squires, G. D. (2011). The personal costs of subprime lending and the foreclosure crisis: A matter of trust, insecurity, and institutional deception. Social Science Quarterly, 92(1), 140–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Royston, P. (2004). Multiple imputation of missing values. The Stata Journal, 4(3), 227–241.Google Scholar
  49. Royston, P. (2005). Multiple imputation of missing values: Update of ice. The Stata Journal, 5(4), 527–536.Google Scholar
  50. Schwartz-Soicher, O., Geller, A., & Garfinkel, I. (2011). The effect of paternal incarceration on material hardship. Social Service Review, 85(3), 447–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Suglia, S., Duarte, C., & Sandel, M. (2011). Housing quality, housing instability, and maternal mental health. Journal of Urban Health, 88(6), 1105–1116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Tarasuk, V. S. (2001). Household food insecurity with hunger is associated with women’s food intakes, health and household circumstances. The Journal of Nutrition, 131(10), 2670–2676.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Tiermeier, H., van Tuijl, H. R., Hofman, A., Meijer, J., Kiliaan, A., & Breteler, M. M. B. (2002). Vitamin B12, Folate, and Homocysteine in Depression: The Rotterdam Study. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 2099–2101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  54. Van Order, R., & Zorn, P. (2002). Performance of low-income and minority mortgages. In N. P. Retsinas & E. S. Belsky (Eds.), Washington. DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
  55. Von Hippel, P. T. (2007). Regression with missing Ys: An improved strategy for analyzing multiply imputed data. Sociological Methodology, 37(1), 83–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  56. Walker, J. L., Holben, D. H., Kropf, M. L., Holcomb, J. P, Jr, & Anderson, H. (2007). Household food insecurity is inversely associated with social capital and health in females from special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children households in Appalachian Ohio. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107(11), 1989–1993.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  57. Weinfield, N. S., Mills, G., Borger, C., Gearing, M., Macaluso, T., Montaquila, J., & Zedlewski, S. (2014). Hunger in America 2014. Westat and the Urban Institute: National report prepared for Feeding America.Google Scholar
  58. Whitaker, R. C., Phillips, S. M., & Orzol, S. M. (2006). Food insecurity and the risks of depression and anxiety in mothers and behavior problems in their preschool-aged children. Pediatrics, 118(3), e859–e868.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Wood, R. G., & Rangarajan, A. (2005). The benefits of housing subsidies for TANF recipients: Evidence from New Jersey. http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/~/media/publications/PDFs/wfnjhousing.pdf.
  60. Wood, D. L., Valdez, R. B., Hayashi, T., & Shen, A. (1990). Health of homeless children and housed, poor children. Pediatrics, 86(6), 858–866.Google Scholar
  61. Zilanawala, A., & Pilkauskas, N. V. (2012). Material hardship and child socioemotional behaviors: Differences by types of hardship, timing, and duration. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(4), 814–825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  62. Ziliak, J. (2015). Why are so many Americans on food stamps? In J. Bartfeld, C. Gundersen, T. M. Smeeding, & J. P. Ziliak (Eds.), SNAP matters: How food stamps affect health and well-being (pp. 18–48). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Nutrition and Health SciencesUniversity of Nebraska – LincolnLincolnUSA

Personalised recommendations