The Impact of Poor Maternal Mental Health on Household Food Security: Does Community Cohesion Matter?

Background and Purpose: Maternal caregivers are theorized to play a critical role in household food security through various caregiving practices  (Schmeer et al, 2015). Evidence exists to suggest a link between maternal wellbeing, household, and child food security (Gunderson & Zilak, 2014, Kaushal et al, 2013, Nord, 2013,). Studies also provide support for a relationship between poor maternal mental health and household food insecurity (see e.g., Hernandez, 2015, Huddleston-Cases et al., 2009; Kaushal et al., 2013).  According to these studies, maternal caregivers reporting poor mental health may have reduced physical and mental capacity to adequately support healthy consumption behavior. Much of the previous literature has focused on understanding risk factors for household food insecurity. To our knowledge, limited evidence exists with respect to the protective factors existent within one’s social environment that can mitigate the challenges of poor maternal mental health on household food security. To bridge this gap in knowledge, this study examines the impact of maternal mental health on household food security, hypothesizing that households with maternal caregivers exhibiting mental health challenges would be at greater risk for food insecurity. We further hypothesized that neighborhood cohesion may buffer the negative effects of poor maternal mental health on food security. This study has implications for programs and policies targeting household food security.

Methods: The study uses two waves of data drawn from a nationally representative survey of 18 large US cities to complete a series of lagged dependent variable regression models. Models were estimated using data from the core and in-home portions of the Fragile Families Survey.  Using a sample of biological mothers of children surveyed between 2002 and 2006 (N=2107), we examined the influence of maternal, household, and neighborhood characteristics on food security in households when the focal child reached age 5. Maternal mental health and food security were measured using previously validated scales. 

Results: Poor maternal mental health negatively impacted household food security. Further, there was a differential impact between having one versus no mental health concerns (β = -0.183,p <0.001), and having comorbid (2 or more) versus one mental health concern on household food security (β = -0.124, p <0.001). For mothers with mental health challenges, living in a community with high levels of community cohesion did buffer the negative effect of poor mental health on household food security (β = 0.154, p <0.001). These relationships held while controlling for other maternal, household, and neighborhood characteristics.

Conclusions and Implications:

The findings build on previous studies that emphasize the link between maternal mental health and household food security. Indeed, this study suggests that communities in which such households are nested may have an important role to play in buffering individual risk factors that may have a negative impact on household food security. In particular community cohesion, by providing households with a supportive social network, may help with navigation of welfare systems, directing such households towards mental health services and informal food supports that are available within the community, amongst others.