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. 2021 Jan 1:168:110396.
doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110396. Epub 2020 Sep 19.

"Do I have enough food?" How need for cognitive closure and gender impact stockpiling and food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-national study in India and the United States of America

Ambra Brizi  1 , Alessandro Biraglia  1
Affiliations

"Do I have enough food?" How need for cognitive closure and gender impact stockpiling and food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-national study in India and the United States of America

Ambra Brizi et al. Pers Individ Dif. .

Abstract

Food waste is considered to be one of the biggest issues affecting individuals around the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic, with the consequent lockdown processes, has recently triggered individuals to stockpile foodstuffs. Recent data shows, however, that individuals have not consumed a good proportion of the stockpiled food, resulting in increasing amounts of products ending up wasted. Using a cross-national survey conducted in the United States and India, we investigate how individuals' levels of need for cognitive closure (NFC) relate to food stockpiling and waste during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a sequential mediation model, we show how individuals high in NFC did not perceive to have enough food at home, ending up buying more food than usual and, eventually, wasting more. Individuals' gender and country of residence moderate such phenomenon, with the effect being more pronounced among Indian (rather than American) women. We discuss how gender roles in different countries can correlate with the stockpiling and food waste processes. We conclude the manuscript by suggesting how public communication and policy making could develop targeted programs to mitigate such issues.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cross-national survey; Food waste; Gender; Need for cognitive closure.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors confirm they have no conflict of interest to declare. Authors also confirm that this article adheres to the ethical guidelines specified in the APA Code of Conduct as well as the authors' national ethics guidelines. The authors confirm that the article submitted, to the knowledge of all authors, has not been published elsewhere previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. This submission is approved by all authors and by the responsible authorities where the authors carried out the work. If accepted for publication, this article will not be published elsewhere including electronically in the same form, in English, or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual model.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mediation effects of the perception of lacking food at home and food stockpiling.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Moderated Sequential Mediation Model (PROCESS Model 83).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Interaction effect at different levels of the moderators.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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