Early childhood income instability, food insecurity, and adolescents' behavioral health

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• Author: Liwei Zhang,Rei Shimizu,Yiwei Zhang,Cassandra Simmel
• Date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12727

RESEARCH

Early childhood income instability, food insecurity,

and adolescents’behavioral health

Liwei Zhang

1

|Rei Shimizu

2

|Yiwei Zhang

3

|Cassandra Simmel

4

1

Brown School, Washington University in

St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

2

School of Social Work, University of Alaska

Anchorage, Anchorage, AK

3

Grace Abbott School of Social Work,

University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE

4

School of Social Work, Rutgers, The State

University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ

Correspondence

Liwei Zhang, Brown School, Washington

University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130,

USA.

Email: liweiz@wustl.edu

Abstract

Objective: This research examines the associations of early

childhood income instability with subsequent behavioral

outcomes in adolescence, paying attention to the mediat-

ing role of food insecurity.

Background: Existing research has documented the rise in

income instability in recent decades. Yet, few studies have

addressed how income instability during early childhood

may shape subsequent behavioral health outcomes in ado-

lescence, beyond the effect of income levels. Furthermore,

the mechanism underlying the longitudinal link remains

unexplored.

Method: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was con-

ducted with the Fragile Families and Child Well-being

Study, a longitudinal data set following families with chil-

dren in 20 large cities in the United States (N=3,422).

Results: Independent from average income levels, both

incidence and frequency of negative income changes were

significantly indirectly associated with higher levels of

internalizing and externalizing behaviors in adolescence.

Food insecurity operated as a mediator of the association.

Conclusion: The results suggest cumulative associations

between income instability and children’s behavioral out-

comes and the substantial role of food insecurity in linking

the two.

Implications: Policies and programs need to promote eco-

nomic stability during early childhood and to ensure food

security in nurturing children’s short- and long-term well-

being.

KEYWORDS

early childhood, food insecurity, income instability, internalizing and

externalizing behavior

Received: 19 August 2021Revised: 28 February 2022Accepted: 23 May 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12727

© 2022 National Council on Family Relations.

1186 Family Relations. 2023;72:1186–1200.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare