The relationship between childhood adversity and food insecurity: ‘It’s like a bird nesting in your head

• Published in: Public health nutrition 2015-10, Vol.18 (14), p.2643-2653
• Main Authors: Chilton, Mariana, Knowles, Molly, Rabinowich, Jenny, Arnold, Kimberly T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Adverse childhood experiences; Anxiety; Caregivers; Caregivers - psychology; Child; Child Abuse; Child development; Child Health; Children & youth; Community nutrition; Domestic violence; Drug abuse; Employment; Families & family life; Family Characteristics; Female; Food security; Food stamps; Food Supply; Households; Humans; Hunger; Interviews; Low income groups; Male; Mental depression; Mental Health; Mothers - psychology; Nesting; Nutrition; Perception; Philadelphia; Poverty; Public assistance programs; Research Papers; Risk Factors; Sex crimes; Social Environment; Social isolation; Socioeconomic Factors; Stress; Trauma; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1368-9800; 1475-2727
• DOI: 10.1017/S1368980014003036

Adverse childhood experiences, including abuse, neglect and household instability, affect lifelong health and economic potential. The present study investigates how adverse childhood experiences are associated with food insecurity by exploring caregivers' perceptions of the impact of their childhood adversity on educational attainment, employment and mental health. Semi-structured audio-recorded in-person interviews that included (i) quantitative measures of maternal and child health, adverse childhood experiences (range: 0-10) and food security using the US Household Food Security Survey Module; and (ii) qualitative audio-recorded investigations of experiences with abuse, neglect, violence and hunger over participants' lifetimes. Households in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Thirty-one mothers of children