Parents struggling with food insecurity can experience heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. These pressures may negatively affect their parenting, which may in turn affect the behavior of their children. In this study, we investigated the parenting aggravation levels of parents who experienced food insecurity in the aftermath of the Great Recession. We also explored the extent to which such aggravation may be responsible for the link between food insecurity and children’s behaviors. We found that parents of first-graders who became food-insecure had increased levels of parenting aggravation. We also detected negative effects of parental aggravation on children’s executive functioning—that is, on their attentiveness and ability to control themselves. As such, we recommend supporting food-insecure parents, not just by stabilizing their access to food, but with broader psycho-social support.
Key Facts
- Parents struggling with food insecurity can experience heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.
- Parenting aggravation that coincides with food insecurity is negatively associated with children’s executive functioning.
- Supporting food-insecure parents may improve parenting and thus have benefits both for parents and their children.
Food insecurity can take an emotional toll on parents. The inadequacy that parents can feel as they struggle to provide food for their families can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression.[1] Food insecurity can also lead to parental irritability and anger.[2] What’s more, the negative consequences of food insecurity on parents’ wellbeing can in turn influence the wellbeing of their children, putting their behavioral development at risk.[3]
[For more on this brief by Kevin Gee and Minahil Asim, go to https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/po...vior-and-development]
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