Food insecurity and housing instability during early childhood as predictors of adolescent mental health

Abstract

This study examined the effects of food insecurity and housing instability experiences during early childhood on adolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms through maternal depression and parenting stress. This longitudinal study included 4 waves of data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (n = 2,626). Food insecurity was measured when the child was 5 years of age using the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 18-item Food Security Scale. Housing instability was also measured when the child was 5 years of age based on an affirmative response to 6 housing adversity items. Maternal depression and parenting stress were measured when the child was 9 years of age. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed when the child (now adolescent) was 15 years of age using 6 items of the Brief Symptom Inventory 18 anxiety subscale and 5 items of the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, respectively. Two structural equation models assessed the associations between food insecurity and housing instability on adolescent anxiety (Model 1) and depressive symptoms (Model 2) through maternal depression and parenting stress simultaneously, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Results suggest that experiencing both food insecurity and housing instability during early childhood increases the risk of long-term adolescent depressive (indirect: B = 0.008, 95% CI [0.002, 0.016]) and anxiety (indirect: B = 0.012, 95% CI [0.002, 0.026]) symptoms through maternal depression to parenting stress. Screening for food insecurity and housing instability during early childhood could potentially identify both mothers who are at risk for depression and parenting stress and children who are at increased risk for anxiety or depressive symptoms during adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Figure 1.

Covariate-adjusted structural equation model for adolescent depressive symptoms The paths without the unstandardized beta and 95% confidence interval were tested but not observed significance. The root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.645, comparative fit index (CFI)=0.883, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI)=−0.230, and Chi-square test of model fit <.001 are reported as the model fit.

Figure 2.

Covariate-adjusted structural equation model for adolescent anxiety symptoms The paths without the unstandardized beta and 95% confidence interval were tested but not observed significance. The root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.469, comparative fit index (CFI)=0.803, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI)=−1.066, and Chi-square test of model fit <.001 are reported as the model fit.