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The Relationship of Fulltime Family Care to Food Security in U.S‐ and Foreign‐Origin Hispanic Households
Author(s) -
McClain Amanda C,
Dickin Katherine L,
Dollahite Jamie
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.901.5
Subject(s) - food security , food insecurity , poverty , population , logistic regression , demographic economics , current population survey , economics , socioeconomics , psychology , geography , demography , economic growth , sociology , medicine , agriculture , archaeology
Hispanic households in the U.S., notably Mexican‐origin, are at high risk of food insecurity related to poverty. Additionally, most foreign‐origin households have two parents but only the father works while the mother provides fulltime family care (FFC). Yet low‐income foreign‐origin, compared to U.S.‐origin, women are more inclined to regard daily food preparation as integral, illustrating important cultural capital to consider in addressing food insecurity. The objective of this study was to understand the relationship of FFC with food security in Mexican‐origin (MO) households, as compared to U.S.‐origin Mexican (USM), foreign‐origin Hispanic (FH), and U.S.‐origin Hispanic (USH) households. This mixed methods study included face‐to‐face interviews with 27 low‐income MO mothers in New York State, plus a large, representative dataset from the 2013 Current Population Survey (CPS) food security supplement. We iteratively coded and analyzed qualitative data thematically. Based on emergent themes, we hypothesized that 1) FFC was associated with decreased household (HFI), adult (AFI), and child food insecurity (CFI) risk among MO and FH households, but not among USM or USH households; and 2) FFC attenuated the risk of HFI, AFI, and CFI for households below 185% Federal Poverty Line (FPL; statistical moderation) among MO and FH but not among USM or USH. For the CPS data, we tested logistic regression models, adjusted for common food security predictors and survey weights. From our qualitative data, Mexican‐origin mothers not working fulltime demonstrated less concern over household food quantity and quality, compared to mothers working fulltime or unemployed. In the CPS data, FFC was not associated with HFI, AFI, or CFI risk. But FFC moderated relationships between poverty level and HFI and AFI among MO and FH households; households >185% FPL with FFC had significantly increased risk of food insecurity, while households <185% FPL showed no difference in food insecurity risk when a member provided FFC versus not. This moderation was not seen in USM or USH households, or for CFI risk among any of the groups. Low‐income FH households, like MO, may benefit from a fulltime care provider. Low‐income Mexican‐origin mothers retain unique cultural and life course food provisioning capital that may protect their households. Nutrition education and outreach to low‐income FH may benefit from leveraging such capacities. Still, our results indicate that FFC may not protect against the most severe food insecurity, CFI, signifying the key role of policy research and reform to address the underlying issue of poverty. Support or Funding Information [Funding: Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant]