Stretching It: Exploring food security status, food insecurity coping strategies, and mental health among single female caregivers

Abstract

Background: Food insecurity is an ongoing problem in the United States. Certain groups, such as single females heading a household tend to be disproportionately impacted. This study examines food security status among single female caregivers of children and investigates the relationships between food security status, depression, and various food insecurity coping strategies.

Methods: Survey data was collected among a convenience sample of single female caregivers (n=94). The survey included measurements assessing food security status, various food insecurity coping strategies, depression, and sociodemographic variables. We examined the relationships between key variables using a series of linear and logistic regressions.

Results: Depressive symptoms were high among our sample, with over 70% of participants surpassing the scale’s cutoff for likely depression. There was a significant relationship between higher levels of food insecurity and increased depressive symptomology after controlling for sociodemographic controls (p = .004). We also found that higher levels of food insecurity were associated with use of more community, interpersonal, and intrapersonal coping strategies (p- values < .05). Greater use of community coping, interpersonal coping, and shopping and tradeoffs (intrapersonal) coping strategies were associated with increased depressive symptoms (p-values < .05).

Conclusion: The high rates of food insecurity and depression among our sample reiterates the need for further study and intentional interventions among single female caregivers. Examining food insecurity coping strategies may provide deeper insight into understanding food insecurity as well as help to clarify the relationship between food insecurity and depression.