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Association of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation with Social Cohesion and Financial Worry based on Race and Ethnicity among U.S. Adults
Author(s) -
Burke Michael P,
Frongillo Edward A
Publication year - 2017
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.31.1_supplement.445.2
Subject(s) - worry , ethnic group , likert scale , national health interview survey , psychology , supplemental nutrition assistance program , gerontology , food security , medicine , environmental health , political science , population , food insecurity , psychiatry , geography , developmental psychology , anxiety , archaeology , law , agriculture
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest federal nutrition assistance program in the U.S. Besides sociodemographic factors, however, little is known about what predicts SNAP participation. Given that SNAP increases food security and access to healthy food, it is critical to understand factors that predict its use. This study examined how social cohesion and financial worry predict SNAP participation, and how the prediction differs by race and ethnicity. Data were from the 2013–2015 waves of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). We restricted the analytic sample to households with incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines (n=27,582). We constructed a social cohesion scale (range: 0–12) that summed four Likert‐type items related to: getting help from neighbors, living in a close‐knit community, counting on neighbors, and trusting neighbors. We also constructed a financial worry scale (range: 0–18) that summed six Likert‐type items measuring financial worry about: retirement, standard of living, healthcare costs, medical accidents, paying bills, and housing costs. Higher scores on each index indicate higher social cohesion or financial worry. Multiple‐variable logistic regression was used to test the association between SNAP participation, social cohesion, and financial worry, accounting for NHIS complex survey sampling and adjusted for sociodemographic factors, household food security status, neighborhood tenure, home ownership status and self‐perceived health status. Thirty‐seven percent of respondents reported SNAP participation in the last 12 months. The mean social cohesion score was 7.48 (± 0.04) and the mean financial worry score was 8.80 (± 0.06). Each 1‐unit increase in social cohesion was associated with 0.97 times the odds of SNAP participation (95% CI: 0.96–0.98). The association between financial worry and SNAP participation was modified by race and ethnicity (P<0.001). Among African‐Americans, SNAP participation was not associated with financial worry. Among Hispanics, SNAP participation was lower with higher financial worry. Among whites and other races, SNAP participation was higher with higher financial worry. Financial worry and social cohesion are two independent predictors of SNAP participation among US adults. Furthermore, financial worry differentially predicted SNAP participation based on race and ethnicity. Research is needed to understand why higher social cohesion predicts lower SNAP participation and why financial worry differentially predicts SNAP participation based on race and ethnicity. Support or Funding Information The views expressed in this abstract are those of the authors and do not represent the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. The authors have no source of research support to disclose.