Children’s Experiences of Food Insecurity in Lebanon: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

Recent studies show that child-specific instruments to assess food insecurity describe childhood food insecurity more accurately than parent reports. Whether this is true in the Middle Eastern cultural context is unknown. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 37 children (aged 8–12 years) and their mothers living in food insecure families in Lebanon to explore their experiences and perceptions of food insecurity. Children were able to express their experiences of food insecurity and perceived lack of money as the primary reason for food insecurity. When money and food were insufficient, children expressed emotions such as worry and empathy related to food insecurity, particularly for their siblings and parents. Most mother–child dyad reports were in agreement regarding children’s awareness of food insecurity. These data can be used to develop a well-grounded tool to measure food insecurity in children, and child-specific insight can inform interventions to alleviate food insecurity in the Middle Eastern context.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• food insecurity
• Lebanon
• Middle East

Acknowledgments

H.G., N.R.S., and N.H. conceived the study; H.G., N.R.S., and O.A.O. contributed to study design; M.A. and A.J.S. conducted field research; M.A., A.J.S., and H.G. analyzed the data; All authors contributed to data interpretation; H.G. and A.J.S. wrote the article. H.G. had primary responsibility for final content. All authors read and approved the final article.

Funding

This study was funded by the University Research Board of the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the University Research Board of the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.