Household adversity and food security: The case of youth in public housing neighborhoods

ABSTRACT

This paper sets out to explore factors that may be associated with food hardship among young people who reside in public housing (N = 124). The study is guided by Family Stress Theory and uses data from a cross-sectional study of African–American adolescents living in a public housing neighborhood located in West Baltimore. Results suggest that food security (defined as availability, accessibility, and adequacy) was negatively related to mother’s incarceration, large households, household experiencing material hardships, and interpersonal conflict as well as violence. It was also linked to community disorganization. Program and policy implications are suggested.

KEYWORDS:

• Public housing
• food hardship
• household adversity
• parental incarceration
• community cohesion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Margaret Lombe, PhD, is an associate professor at Boston College School of Social Work. In addition, she is a faculty associate at the Center for Social Development in the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr Lombe’s area of expertise is in international social development with an emphasis on social inclusion/exclusion and capacity building. She also specializes in methods for food security and nutrition assessment and evaluation of programs both locally and internationally.

Von Eugene Nebbitt, PhD, is an associate professor at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. Dr Nebbitt holds a BA from St. Louis University and a PhD and MSW from Washington University in St. Louis. Dr Nebbitt’s research focuses on the physical, mental, and behavioral health of African–American adolescents living in urban public housing developments. His research has been supported by both federal (NIDA/NCMHD) and foundation (Silberman Foundation & MacArthur Foundation) sources. His research has been published in a range of peer-reviewed scholarly journals that include but are not limited to social work, health, and psychology journals. He is also the author of the recently released book Adolescents in Public Housing, which is published by Columbia University Press.

Yoosun Chu is a PhD candidate at Boston College School of Social Work. She earned her MSW from Boston College. Her research focuses on international social development issues and social policy that would address social development globally.

Leia Saltzman, PhD, is an Azrieli International Postdoctoral Fellow at Hebrew University in the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare. She received her PhD in social work from Boston College in 2016. Her research focuses on the mental health outcomes of individuals, families, and communities in the wake of traumatic events, with a particular emphasis on positive adaptations such as resilience and post-traumatic growth.

Dr Taqi Tirmazi is an associate professor at the Morgan State University School of Social Work. Dr Tirmazi’s research focuses on the psychological functioning and behavioral health of urban and immigrant youth, using a risk and resiliency perspective. Dr Tirmzai earned his MSW and PhD from Howard University.