RESEARCH ARTICLE
The link between food insecurity and psychological distress: The role of stress exposure and coping resources
Gabriele Ciciurkaite,
Robyn Lewis Brown,
Corresponding Author
Gabriele Ciciurkaite
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
Correspondence Gabriele Ciciurkaite, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Utah State University, 0730 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-0730, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorRobyn Lewis Brown
Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Search for more papers by this author
Gabriele Ciciurkaite,
Robyn Lewis Brown,
Corresponding Author
Gabriele Ciciurkaite
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
Correspondence Gabriele Ciciurkaite, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Utah State University, 0730 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-0730, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorRobyn Lewis Brown
Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
This study examines the association between food insecurity and mental health over a 3-year period. It also assesses the salience of life stressors and psychosocial coping resources for this association. We utilize data from a two-wave community survey of Miami-Dade County, Florida residents (N = 1488). Findings from SEM analysis reveal that greater food insecurity at W1 is associated with greater depressive symptoms at W2, lending credence to characterizations of food insecurity as a chronic stressor. This association is partly mediated by variation over the study period in social support and mastery. However, no significant mediating effects are observed for the social stress indicators assessed. Food insecurity is associated with diminished psychosocial coping resources, which leads to greater psychological distress. We discuss how these findings extend a stress and coping model of food insecurity, and implications for research and practice.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.
Open Research
PEER REVIEW
The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons.com/publon/10.1002/jcop.22741
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The dataset analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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