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Household food insecurity andchildren's school engagementGodwin AshiabiPublished online: 22 Jan 2007.

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HOUSEHOLD FOOD INSECURITY AND

CHILDREN’S SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

Godwin Ashiabi

Data on 11,614 children (ages 6�/11) from the 1999 National Survey of American Families were

used to examine a model linking household food insecurity, child health, and emotional well-

being to school engagement. The results, using path analyses revealed that (i) the proposed model

fit the data quite well; (ii) food insecurity predicted health status, emotional well-being, and

negatively predicted school engagement; (iii) health status predicted emotional well-being, and

negatively predicted school engagement. Finally, emotional well-being negatively predicted

school engagement. Results of mediation analyses showed that food insecurity had a significant

indirect effect on emotional well-being via its effect on health status, and a significant indirect

effect on school engagement via its effects on health status and emotional well-being.

Introduction

Food security, or consistent access to an adequate nutritionally balanced diet, is

essential for children’s development and well-being; food-insecure households lack this

important consistent access. Most food-insecure households avoid hunger by limiting the

types of food they buy and by relying on public, private, or both types of food programs

(Daponte 2000; Rose, Gunderson, and Oliveira 1998). Researchers (Martorell 1996;

Poppendieck 1997) agree that poverty is a primary cause of food insecurity; however,

not all poor households are food insecure (Hamilton et al. 1997). Nord, Andrews, and

Carlson (2003) estimated that in 2002 between 517,000 and 775,000 of U.S. households

included one or more members who were hungry on a given day, and that 30,000 to

38,000 households had children who experienced hunger every day. The rates of food

insecurity were higher among black and Hispanic households, households with incomes

below the federal poverty line, and those headed by single women with children (Nord,

Andrews, and Carlson 2003).

Research linking food insecurity to children’s health, and psychosocial, cognitive,

and academic outcomes has examined these outcomes in isolation, with few, if any,

attempts at examining the interrelationships among them. Consequently, little data is

available on the processes through which food insecurity impacts children’s outcomes. For

example, Pollitt et al. (1996) argued that exclusive focus on cognition, without

consideration of other processes and factors, gives the impression that cognition is

directly affected by undernutrition. However, current conceptualization suggests that

undernutrition affects cognitive and academic outcomes indirectly through emotional and

motivational behaviors.

Journal of Children & Poverty, Vol. 11, No 1, 2005ISSN 1079-6126 print/1469-9389 online/05/010003-15– 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd DOI: 10.1080/1079612042000333027

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Furthermore, no study that this author is aware of has examined the link between

food insecurity and school engagement. School engagement has been defined as

(i) regular participation in classroom and school activities, and (ii) feelings a child has

that he/she belongs in the school setting and values school-relevant outcomes (Finn 1993;

Goodenow 1993). Examining school engagement is important because a child’s degree of

engagement is beneficial for his/her schooling outcomes. For example, students who are

engaged in school are less likely to drop out or engage in other problematic behaviors

(Jenkins 1995; Johnson, Crosnoe, and Elder 2001), and more likely to do well academically

(Furrer and Skinner 2003). Lastly, most of the research on school engagement has been

concerned with its relationship to academic achievement, and constructs describing

engagement often have been treated as predictors of academic performance (Johnson,

Crosnoe, and Elder 2001; Sirin and Rogers-Sirin 2004). A few studies have treated

engagement as an outcome variable and found that school environment has a strong

effect on school engagement (Finn and Voelkl 1993; Lee and Smith 1993). However, these

studies did not examine how household food insecurity, child health, and emotional well-

being affect school engagement.

Given the foregoing, the purpose of the present study was to examine a model

linking household food insecurity, child health, and emotional well-being to school

engagement for a nationwide sample of children adjusting for family poverty level,

parental education, race or ethnicity, sex of child, and receipt of public assistance. Given

that there is little research linking household food insecurity to school engagement, this

author argues that empirical findings on the associations among household food

insecurity, child health, emotional well-being, and academic outcomes could be used to

suggest hypotheses regarding pathways through which household food insecurity might

affect school engagement.

Food Insecurity and Health Outcomes

Findings regarding the health consequences of food insecurity are inconclusive.

Some studies have found negative effects of food insecurity on health. For example,

household food insecurity was found to be associated with poorer health status for

children in two different national samples (Alaimo et al. 2001; Casey et al. 2001). Alaimo

et al. (2001) reported that food-insufficient preschool and school-aged children had more

frequent stomach aches and headaches, and that food-insufficient preschoolers also

experienced more colds. Food insufficiency has also been linked to stunting, reduced

motor activity, and diminished exploratory behavior (Simeon and Grantham-McGregor

1990).

On the other hand, other investigators (Dunifon and Kowaleski-Jones 2002; Reid

2000) did not find that food insecurity adversely affected children’s health. Using

anthropomorphic measures of child health (height-for-age and weight-for-age), Reid

(2000) found no evidence that food insecurity negatively impacts child health. Reid (2000)

argued that perhaps the extent of food insecurity in the United States is not as severe as

that observed in the developing world. Although Reid’s argument is tenable, these

conflicting findings suggest that the choice of health outcome makes a difference in

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whether a link is observed between food insecurity and health status. Given these

observations, the first objective of this study was to examine whether food insecurity

adversely affects a measure of general health status.

Food Insecurity and Psychosocial Outcomes

Research on food insecurity and psychosocial well-being consistently shows that

children in food-insecure households experience various behavioral and emotional

problems (Alaimo, Olson, and Frongillo 2001, 2002; Kleinman et al. 1998; Reid 2000;

Stormer and Harrison 2003). For example, food-insecure children have been found to

experience difficulty getting along with peers, depressive disorders, and suicidal ideation

(Alaimo, Olson, and Frongillo 2001, 2002), and fatigue, irritability, and difficulty

concentrating compared to other children (Pollitt et al. 1996; Wehler, Scott, and Anderson

1995). Using data from the Community Childhood Hunger Identification project (CCHIP),

Kleinman et al. (1998) also reported that children from families experiencing

food insufficiency and hunger were more likely to exhibit behavioral and emotional

problems on standardized measures of psychosocial dysfunction than were children from

the same low-income communities whose families did not report experiences of food

insufficiency.

Though the evidence indicates that food insecurity negatively affects children’s

emotional well-being, none of the studies reviewed have investigated whether these

emotional problems impact children’s school engagement. However, other research

has documented the deleterious effects of emotional and behavioral problems on

academic achievement (e.g., Raver 2002). By extension, this author argues that children

who are experiencing emotional and behavioral problems are less likely to be engaged in

school because these problems detract from participation in school and commitment to

schooling. Thus, a second objective of this study was to examine whether children’s

emotional well-being negatively impacts school engagement.

Food Insecurity and Academic Outcomes

Findings on the effects of food insecurity on academic outcomes are inconclusive.

Some studies suggest that children from food-insecure households do not perform as well

on academic achievement tests as do children from food-secure households (Alaimo,

Olson, and Frongillo 2001; Reid 2000). Previous research findings reveal that food

insufficiency is a developmental risk for children (Brown and Pollitt 1996; Pollitt et al. 1996),

and that undernutrition in early childhood is associated with cognitive deficits and poor

school achievement (Grantham-McGregor 1995). Micronutrient deficiencies have also been

linked to cognitive and academic performance. For example, evidence on the effects

of iron deficiency in preschoolers and school-age children reveals that iron-deficient

children scored lower on cognitive tests and did not perform as well on school tests

(Pollitt et al. 1989).

In a national study, Winicki and Jemison (2001) found that kindergarteners from

food-insecure households scored lower on math tests taken at the beginning of the school

FOOD INSECURITY AND SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT 5

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year and learned less throughout the school year, using improvements in math scores

as a criterion. Undernourished children are also at risk for lower levels of attention, learning

impairment, and poor school attendance and achievement (Simeon and Grantham-

McGregor 1990; Wachs 1995). Reid’s (2000) study of the effects of food insecurity

on achievement showed that food insecurity negatively affects school achievement,

measured as scores on the letter-word, application, passage comprehension,

and calculation subtests of the Woodcock Johnson Tests. Reid (2000) argued food

insecurity could (i) affect a child’s energy level, (ii) result in feelings of hunger that is

distractive, or (iii) impact children’s psychological and emotional well-being. Any one

of these mechanisms, or some combination of them, could also explain the impact of

food security on school engagement. There is empirical evidence in support of Reid’s

argument which suggests that undernourished children are apathetic, withdrawn,

not responsive to their environment, passive, and have decreased motivation and

heightened anxiety (Grantham-McGregor 1995; Pollitt et al. 1996; Strupp and Levitsky

1995).

On the other hand, Stormer and Harrison (2003) using the 1998�/99 ECLS-K did not

find household food insecurity to be related to measures of children’s reading, math, and

general knowledge. These inconsistent findings could be a function of the investigated

outcome measure. This means that food insecurity might affect different cognitive and

academic outcomes differently. Furthermore, research on the effects of food insecurity on

children’s achievement has focused almost exclusively on performance on various

cognitive and academic tests, with no attempts to examine how food insecurity impacts

school engagement. The issue of school engagement is important because, as argued

previously, the degree of school engagement provides benefits for school and academic

performance. Given that no study to date that this author is aware of has examined this

topic, a third objective of this study was to examine whether food insecurity adversely

affects school engagement.

Health Status and Psychosocial Problems

Empirical findings on the link between children’s health and psychological

difficulties have been contradictory. Some studies report a link between health and

psychological problems (Cohen et al. 1998; Nolan and Pless 1986), whereas others

have found no such effects (Kellerman et al. 1980). In a study that compared children with

and without mental health problems, Combs-Orme, Heflinger, and Simpkins (2002)

reported that children with health conditions were more likely to have mental health

problems.

Lavigne and Faier-Routman (1992), in a meta-analysis of 87 articles, concluded that

the evidence supports an increased risk for mental health problems (internalizing and

externalizing) in children with physical health problems or disabilities. However, their data

were not conclusive for relationships between specific types of disorders and health

problems. These inconsistent findings are a function of the use of clinical samples, and the

varying definitions of health and psychological problems used in these studies. Given

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these findings, a fourth objective was to examine whether a measure of general health

status predicts emotional well-being.

Psychosocial Problems and School Achievement

Internalizing problems have been associated with academic problems, though less

consistently. Children who struggle with depression score lower on standardized

achievement tests (Ialongo, Edelsohn, and Kellam 2001). Puig-Antich et al. (1993) reported

depressive symptoms to be associated with academic problems, whereas Reinherz et al.

(1993) found no connections between internalizing symptoms and poor academic

performance. The observed associations between internalizing disorders and academic

problems may be due to their associations with attention problems. This formulation is

probable, given that attention problems are comorbid with internalizing problems, and

some internalizing disorders include symptoms of attention difficulties (Raver 2002).

Additionally, internalizing problems may affect motivation for schoolwork, leading to poor

performance in school. At this time, the evidence is equivocal; thus, another objective was

to examine the link between emotional well-being and school engagement, an area that

has not had much research attention.

Given the literature reviewed, it was hypothesized that (i) a model linking household

food insecurity to health status, emotional well-being, and school engagement will be

supported; (ii) food insecurity will predict health status, emotional well-being, and

negatively predict school engagement; (iii) health status will predict emotional well-being

and negatively predict school engagement; (iv) emotional well-being will negatively

predict school engagement; and (v) food insecurity will have an indirect effect on

emotional well-being and school engagement via its effects on health status, and an

indirect effect on school engagement via its impacts on emotional well-being.

The Hypothesized Model

A model (Figure 1) was tested linking household food insecurity to school

engagement. The covariates (poverty level, parental education, sex of child, race/ethnicity,

and public assistance) are presented in the boxes with broken lines, and the broken arrows

reflect the effects of the covariates. The next part of Figure 1 shows the effects of food

insecurity on health status, emotional well-being, and school engagement. Health status is

shown as affecting both emotional well-being and school engagement; and finally

emotional well-being is shown to impact school engagement.

Methodology

The Data and Sample

This was a secondary analysis of the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families data

set (a survey of the economic, health, and social characteristics of children and adults

under the age of 65, and their families). Interviews were obtained from 42,360 households

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(Safir, Scheuren, and Wang 2000). The sample consisted of a random-digit dial survey of

households with telephones, and a supplemental area probability sample of households

without telephones. Interviews were conducted in two stages: a five-minute screening

interview to determine eligibility, followed by a 27�/45-minute interview (Safir, Scheuren,

and Wang 2000). For the present study, data on 11,614 children aged 6�/11 (5,931 boys

and 5,683 girls) were used, of which 1,747 were identified as blacks, 9,402 as whites, and

465 as other racial groups. The mean age was 8.39 years, with SD�/1.69.

Family poverty. This variable compared family income received during the

preceding year, 1998, to the Census Bureau’s Federal poverty thresholds for that year,

given family size and numbers of children. To determine family income, questions were

asked about the amount of money income received in the preceding year by each person

in the sampled family. Sources of income included wages or salary, social security, public

assistance pensions, and alimony or child support. Household income was expressed as a

percentage of the 1998 poverty threshold and ranged from less than 50 percent of 1998

poverty line to greater than 300 percent of 1998 poverty line.

Parental education. The number of years of schooling completed by the

respondent parent was included as covariate, given the association between education

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FIGURE 1

Model linking food insecurity to school engagement

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and earning potential. It was coded as 1 (less than high school) through 12 (graduate or

professional degree).

Other covariates. Other covariates included sex of child (boy or girl) and race

(blacks�/1,747; whites�/9,402; others�/465). Three variables were used to assess receipt

of public assistance: if anyone in the family has received Aid to Families with Dependent

Children (AFDC) or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), if anyone in the family

has received welfare, and if anyone in the family currently receives TANF. All these

questions were responded to as ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ and recoded (1�/yes, 0�/no).

Food insecurity. Given that food stamp receipt is related to food insecurity

(Daponte 2000), and to capture the length of time of food insecurity, an index

was created by summing the responses to three questions (past 12-month food stamp

receipt by family, whether any member of family has ever received food stamp, and

current receipt of food stamps) answered ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ and coded as 1 or 0, respectively

(alpha�/0.92). Higher scores indicated greater food insecurity.

Health status. This was the summed responses to two questions regarding current

health status (1�/excellent to 5�/poor), and current health compared to 12 months ago

(1�/much better to 5�/worse). Higher scores indicated worse health status.

Child emotional well-being. This scale was created by summing responses to four

items: child has been sad or depressed over the past month, child has been nervous or

tense over the past month, child feels worthless or inferior, child cannot concentrate for

too long. The response categories on a three-point scale (1�/often true to 3�/never true)

were reverse-coded so that higher scores indicated worse outcomes (alpha�/0.66).

School engagement. This index was created by summing responses to four items

(child cares about doing well in school, child only works on schoolwork when forced

to, child does just enough to get by, child always does homework) on a four-point

scale (1�/all of the time to 4�/none of the time). Responses to the second and third

question were reverse-coded so that higher scores indicated greater school engagement

(alpha�/0.69).

Data Analyses

Path analyses based on maximum likelihood estimation with AMOS 4.0 program

(Arbuckle and Wothke 1999) was used, and four goodness-of-fit indices (x2, NFI, RMSEA,

P-CLOSE) were used to assess overall model fit. Because x2 values are sensitive to the

sample size and are often significant with large samples, other goodness-of-fit indices

were used to augment the x2 index of fit. For a good fit, the NFI value has to be at least

0.90 (Bentler and Bonett 1980), the RMSEA pB/ 0.06 (Hu and Bentler 1999), and P-CLOSE

p �/0.05 (Loehlin 1998).

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Results

Correlations Among Variables

The results of the intercorrelations among variables are presented in Table 1.

The analyses showed that food insecurity was related to health status (r�/0.05, p B/0.01),

emotional well-being (r�/0.13, p B/0.01), and negatively to school engagement

(r�/�/0.09, p B/0.01). Health status was negatively associated with school engagement

(r�/�/0.12, p B/0.01), and positively with emotional well-being (r�/0.19, p B/0.01). Finally,

emotional well-being was negatively related to school engagement (r�/�/0.38, p B/0.01).

In regard to the covariates, poverty level was associated with being white (r�/0.23,

p B/0.01) and parental education (r�/0.42, pB/ 0.01), and negatively with current receipt of

TANF (r�/�/0.27, p B/0.01), previous receipt of AFDC (r�/�/0.11, p B/0.01), and being

black (r�/�/0.24, p B/0.01). Current receipt of TANF was associated with parental

education (r�/0.15, p B/0.01), being black (r�/0.16, p B/0.01), past receipt of AFDC

(r�/�/0.15, p B/0.01), and negatively with being white (r�/�/0.15, pB/ 0.01). Past receipt

of AFDC was associated with being black (r�/0.11, p B/0.05), and negatively associated

with receipt of voucher (r�/�/0.35, p B/0.01). Education was related to being white

(r�/0.08, p B/0.01) and negatively to being black (r�/�/0.11, p B/0.01).

Effects of Covariates

The analyses (Figure 2) showed poverty level had a negative effect on food

insecurity (b�/�/0.34, p B/0.001). Parental education had a negative effect on food

insecurity (b�/�/0.05, p B/0.001). Being black had an effect on food insecurity (b�/0.09,

p B/0.001). Past receipt of AFDC had an effect on food insecurity (b�/0.10, p B/0.001), and

current receipt of TANF predicted food insecurity (b�/0.35, p B/0.001).

Hypothesis 1. The goodness-of-fit indices for the path analyses (Figure 2) indicated

that the model fit the data quite well x2(24df)�/607.42, p B/0.001; NFI�/0.99,

RMSEA�/0.05, and P-CLOSE�/0.99.

Hypotheses 2�/4. The results (Figure 2) supported the hypothesis that food

insecurity will predict health status (b�/0.05, p B/0.001), emotional well-being (b�/0.12,

p B/0.001), and negatively predict school engagement (b�/�/0.04, p B/0.001). Further-

more, health status predicted emotional well-being (b�/0.19, p B/0.001), and negatively

predicted school engagement (b�/�/0.05, pB/ 0.001). Finally, emotional well-being

negatively predicted school engagement (b�/�/0.37, pB/ 0.001).

Hypothesis 5, test for mediation. Using Baron and Kenny’s (1986) strategy for testing

the significance of the indirect effects, the results revealed that food insecurity had an

indirect effect on school engagement via its effects on health status (t�/�/4.24, p B/0.001)

and emotional well-being (t�/�/9.97, p B/0.001). Finally, food insecurity had an indirect

effect on emotional well-being via its effect on health status (t�/5.87, p B/0.001).

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TABLE 1

Intercorrelations among variables, means, standard deviations, and range

Variables in the model1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1. AFDC �/ �/0.37** 0.28** �/0.13** �/0.01 �/0.03 �/0.05 0.11** 0.23** �/0.08 �/0.08 0.052. Voucher �/ �/0.16** 0.003 0.08* �/0.03 0.07 �/0.07 �/0.06 0.09* �/0.04 0.013. TANF �/ �/0.27** �/0.15** �/0.01 �/0.15** 0.16** 0.48** 0.03** �/0.04** 0.07**4. Poverty level �/ 0.42** �/0.02* 0.23** �/0.24** �/0.49** �/0.07** 0.09** �/0.09**5. Education �/ �/0.02 0.08** �/0.11** �/0.26** �/0.07** 0.11** �/0.07**6. Gender �/ �/0.004 �/0.004 0.01 �/0.01 0.19** �/0.08**7. Race: whites �/ �/0.87** �/0.22** �/0.02* 0.04** �/0.02*8. Race: blacks �/ 0.25** 0.04** �/0.04** 0.03**9. Food insecurity �/ 0.05** �/0.09** 0.13**

10. Health problems �/ �/0.12** 0.19**11. School engagement �/ �/0.38**12. Emotional well-being �/

Mean of variables 0.90 0.13 0.03 2.80 7.18 1.49 0.81 0.15 0.33 4.41 13.27 5.35SD of variables 0.29 0.33 0.18 1.21 2.94 0.50 0.39 0.36 0.87 1.05 2.59 1.50Range for variables 0�/1 0�/1 0�/1 0.5�/4 1�/12 0�/1 0�/1 0�/1 0�/3 2�/10 1�/16 1�/12

*pB/0.05; **pB/0.01.

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Discussions and Conclusions

It was hypothesized that (i) a model linking food insecurity to health status,

emotional well-being, and school engagement will be supported; (ii) food insecurity

will predict health status, emotional well-being, and school engagement; (iii) health status

will predict emotional well-being and school engagement; (iv) emotional well-being will

predict school engagement; and (v) food insecurity will have an indirect effect on

emotional well-being and school engagement via its effects on health status, and an

indirect effect on school engagement via its impacts on emotional well-being. The results

provided support for the first hypothesis, and suggested that the hypothesized model fit

the data quite well. The findings also revealed that food insecurity had an effect on

children’s health status. That is, children who were food insecure had worse health status.

This finding is in accord with previous findings (Alaimo et al. 2001; Casey et al. 2001;

Simeon and Grantham-McGregor 1990) that food insecurity is related to poor health and

supports Reid’s (2000) argument that children who experience food insecurity have

compromised health.

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/)20.(21.– **50.–

/)20.(46.– **73.–

( sthgiew htap dezidradnats dna ,)ES( dezidradnatsnU ecaf dlob nwohs era )= ** p 100.<

:secidni tif-fo-ssendooGχ ,24.706=)fd42(2 p 100.<

99.=IFN 99.=ESOLC-P ;50.=AESMR

tairavoc gnoma snoitalerroC :etoN .txet eht ni detroper era se

FIGURE 2

Model linking food insecurity to school engagement

12 GODWIN ASHIABI

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Food insecurity also had a negative effect on school engagement, revealing that

children who were food insecure were more likely to exhibit lower levels of school

engagement. This finding parallels previous research linking food insecurity to educational

achievement (Alaimo, Olson, and Frongillo 2001; Brown and Pollitt 1996; Pollitt et al. 1996;

Reid, 2000; Winicki and Jemison 2001). As suggested by various investigators (Grantham-

McGregor 1995; Pollitt et al. 1996; Strupp and Levitsky 1995; Wehler, Scott, and Anderson

1995), food insecurity affects the energy levels of children and thus can lead to

disengagement. For example, food-insecure children are apathetic, withdrawn, not

responsive to their environment, passive, and have decreased motivation and heightened

anxiety. Any one of these factors or several factors in combination could explain the link

between food insecurity and school engagement. That food insecurity predicted children’s

emotional well-being is in line with previous empirical data that children in food-insecure

households experience various emotional problems (Alaimo, Olson, and Frongillo 2001,

2002; Reid 2000). Furthermore, children who were emotionally distressed exhibited

lower levels of school engagement. This finding is consistent with various reports (Jensen,

Martin, and Cantwell 1997; Raver 2002; Reid 2000) that children who experience higher

levels of emotional distress may also experience more difficulties in schooling. This is

because emotional distress has the potential to detract and interfere with schoolwork

through its effects on children’s attention and motivation (Jensen, Martin, and Cantwell

1997).

Finally, support for the mediation hypothesis suggests that food insecurity impacted

children’s school engagement through its impact on health status. That is, children who

were less healthy were less likely to be educationally engaged. Another possibility was that

food insecurity impacted children’s school engagement through its effects on emotional

well-being. Children who experienced high levels of emotional distress either had

attention difficulties or were not motivated, and thus were less likely to be engaged in

school. Finally, the finding that health status partially mediated the link between food

insecurity and emotional well-being suggests that children with poor health status were

more likely to experience elevated levels of emotional problems, which could have been a

consequence of the worries about their health.

Although the present study adds to the existing literature, there are some limitations

worth mentioning. First, given that this was a secondary analysis of survey data, it has the

limitations encountered when using pre-existing data sets. For example, a proxy measure

of food insecurity had to be used. Second, the study was cross-sectional, thus it cannot

address the pathways through which food insecurity impacts school engagement.

Furthermore, although the model tested was supported, it is not exhaustive; equivalent

models with different paths and constructs than those included in this study also could

account for the variation observed. Another limitation was that the data used represents a

different age group, thus limiting the generalizability of the findings. Given these

limitations, it would be useful to examine the model using a more diversified sample in

a longitudinal analysis study to explicate some of the mechanisms through which food

insecurity impacts children over time.

In sum, the findings suggest attention be paid to the consequences of food

insecurity as it may affect children’s human capital formation through its impact on health

FOOD INSECURITY AND SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT 13

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and emotional well-being. These findings also suggest that continued federal support of

programs such as the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program

are necessary. As argued by Pollitt et al. (1996, 9) ‘‘school nutrition programs should

enhance children’s achievement by improving attendance, preventing hunger, and

correcting nutritional deficiencies.’’ This is because these programs have the potential

to reduce food insecurity among children (at least in the school setting) and to have direct

effects on children’s well-being and school achievement (Brown and Pollitt 1996; Devaney,

Ellwood, and Love 1997).

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Godwin Ashiabi, Ph.D., is currently with the University of Missouri Extension as a Human

Development Specialist. He received his Ph.D. in Child Development and Family

Studies with a minor in Statistics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is

interested in the impacts of poverty on children and families, family processes, and

the psychosocial adjustment of children.

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