Abstract
Children at high risk for going to school or bed hungry are also at risk to develop psychosocial problems at school. These psychosocial problems are associated with bullying. To date, no empirical studies examine the association between going to school or bed hungry (i.e., food insecurity) and bullying. Perceptions of food insecurity are aligned with perceived social standing, and this study is guided by the conceptual framework that youth subjective appraisal of their social standing is associated with psychosocial problems. This study uses a representative US sample of 12,642 students from the “Health Behaviour in School-aged Children” survey. Omnibus Kruskal–Wallis and pairwise test statistically analyze the data. Findings indicate food-insecure students bully others and are victims of bullying more frequently than food-secure students. These results suggest food not only impacts health, but perceptions of lack of food are related to psychosocial problems in the form of school bullying. Schools can implement treatment models that address individual-level psychosocial perceptions to advance positive youth developmental trajectories and prevent food insecurity and bullying.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashiabi, G. S., & O’Neal, K. K. (2008). A framework for understanding the association between food insecurity and children’s developmental outcomes. Child Development Perspectives, 2(2), 71–77. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2008.00049.x.
Borders, A. E. B., Grobman, W. A., Amsden, L. B., & Holl, J. L. (2007). Chronic stress and low birth weight neonates in a low-income population of women. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 109, 331–338.
Bradshaw, C. P., Sawyer, A. L., & O’Brennan, L. M. (2007). Bullying and peer victimization at school: Perceptual differences between students and school staff. School Psychology Review, 36, 361–382.
Coleman-Jensen, A., Nord, M., & Singh, A. (2013). Household food security in the United States in 2012 (Economic research report No. [ERR-155] 41PP). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
Cook, J. T., Frank, D. A., Berkowitz, C., Black, M. M., Casey, P. H., Cutts, D. B., et al. (2004). Food insecurity is associated with adverse health outcomes among human infants and toddlers. Journal of Nutrition, 134, 1432–1438.
Craig, W., Harel-Fisch, Y., Fogel-Grinvald, H., Dastaler, S., Hetland, J., Simons-Morten, B., et al. (2009). A cross-national profile of bullying and victimization among adolescents in 40 countries. International Journal of Public Health, 54, S216–S224.
Edwards, O. W. (2016). Bullying among middle school children raised by grandparents. Contemporary School Psychology. doi:10.1007/s40688-015-0082-6.
Edwards, O. W., & Batlemento, P. (2016). Caregiver configurations and bullying among high school students. Journal of Child and Family Studies. doi:10.1007/s10826-016-0442-5.
Edwards, O. W., & Cheeley, T. (2016). Positive youth development and nutrition: Interdisciplinary strategies to enhance student outcomes. Children & Schools, 38, 170–176. doi:10.1093/cs/cdw019.
Edwards, O. W., Mumford, V. E., & Serra-Roldan, R. (2007). A positive youth development model for students considered at-risk. School Psychology International, 28, 29–45. doi:10.1177/0143034307075673.
Edwards, O. W., & Pratt, H. (2016). Family meal participation as a corollary of positive youth development: Opportunities for counseling services. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 38(2), 89–96. doi:10.1007/s10447-016-9258-7.
Edwards, O. W., & Taub, G. E. (2009). A conceptual pathways model to promote positive youth development in children raised by their grandparents. School Psychology Quarterly, 24(3), 160–172. doi:10.1037/a0016226.
Espelage, D. L., & De La Rue, L. (2013). School bullying: Its nature and ecology. In J. C. Srabstein, J. Merrick, J. C. Srabstein, & J. Merrick (Eds.), Bullying: A public health concern (pp. 23–37). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2014). Healthy hunger-free kids act. http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/CNR_2010.htm.
Glew, G. M., Fan, M., Katon, W., & Rivara, F. P. (2008). Bullying and school safety. The Journal of Pediatrics, 152(1), 123–128. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2007.05.045.
Goodman, E., Huang, B., Schafer-Kalkhoff, T., & Adler, N. E. (2007). Perceived socioeconomic status: A new type of identity that influences adolescents’ self-rated health. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(5), 479–487. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.05.020.
Gundersen, C., & Ziliak, J. P. (2014). Childhood food insecurity in the U.S.: Trends, causes, and policy options. The Future of Children, 24(2), 1–19. doi:10.1353/foc.2014.0007.
Guthrie, J. (2012). Feeding children after school: The expanding role of USDA child nutrition programs. Amber Waves. Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2012-March/feeding-children-after-school.aspx#.Utgxa9JdXzg.
Harvey, K. (2016). ‘When I go to bed hungry and sleep, I’m not hungry’: Children and parents’ experiences of food insecurity. Appetite, 99, 235–244. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2016.01.004.
Haynos, A. F., Watts, A. W., Loth, K. A., Pearson, C. M., & Neumark-Stzainer, D. (2016). Factors predicting an escalation of restrictive eating during adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(4), 391–396. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.03.011.
HBSC. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.hbsc.org/publications/journal/.
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, P.L. 111-296, 124 Stat. 3183 (December 13, 2010).
Hopson, L. M., & Lee, E. (2011). Mitigating the effect of family poverty on academic and behavioral outcomes: The role of school climate in middle and high school. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(11), 2221–2229. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.07.006.
Howard, L. L. (2011). Does food insecurity at home affect non-cognitive performance at school? A longitudinal analysis of elementary student classroom behavior. Economics of Education Review, 30, 157–176.
Iannotti, R. J. (2010). Health behavior in school-aged children (HBSC), 2009–2010—Codebook: Student survey. United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Jyoti, D. F., Frongillo, E. A., & Jones, S. J. (2005). Food insecurity affects school children’s academic performance, weight gain, and social skills. The Journal of Nutrition, 135, 2831–2839.
Kessel Schneider, S., O’Donnell, L., Stueve, A., & Coulter, R. S. (2012). Cyberbullying, school bullying, and psychological distress: A regional census of high school students. American Journal of Public Health, 102(1), 171–177. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300308.
Lumeng, J. C., Forrest, P., Appugliese, D. P., Kaciroti, N., Corwyn, R. F., & Bradley, R. H. (2010). Weight status as a predictor of being bullied in third through sixth grades. Pediatrics, 125(6), e1301–e1307. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0774.
Martinez, M. J., & Kawam, E. (2014). A call to action for social workers: Food insecurity and child health. Social Work, 59(4), 370–372. doi:10.1093/sw/swu035.
McLaughlin, K. A., Green, J. G., Alegría, M., Costello, E. J., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., et al. (2012). Food insecurity and mental disorders in a national sample of U.S. Adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(12), 1293–1303. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2012.09.009.
Nackers, L. M., & Appelhans, B. M. (2013). Food insecurity is linked to a food environment promoting obesity in households with children. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 45(6), 780–784. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2013.08.001.
Nansel, T. R., Craig, W., Overpeck, M. D., Saluja, G., Ruan, W. J., & the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Bullying Analyses Working Group. (2004). Cross-national consistency in the relationship between bullying behaviors and psychosocial adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 158, 730–736.
Ramsey, R., Giskes, K., Turrell, G., & Gallegos, D. (2011). Food insecurity among Australian children: Potential determinants, health and developmental consequence. Journal of Child Health Care, 15(4), 401–416.
Roberts, C., Freeman, J., Samdal, O., Schnohr, C. W., de Looze, M. E., Gabhainn, N. S., Iannotti, R., Rasmussen, M., & International HBSC Study Group. (2009). The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study: methodological developments and current tensions. International Journal of Public Health, 54(2), 140–50.
Rueger, S. Y., Malecki, C. K., & Demaray, M. K. (2011). Stability of peer victimization in early adolescence: Effects of timing and duration. Journal of School Psychology, 49(4), 443–464. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2011.04.005.
Sampasa-Kanyinga, H., & Willmore, J. (2015). Relationships between bullying victimization psychological distress and breakfast skipping among boys and girls. Appetite. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2015.01.020.
Scholl, T. O., & Johnson, W. G. (2000). Folic acid: Influence on the outcome of pregnancy. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 71(Suppl), 1295S–1303S.
Shetgiri, R., Lin, H., Avila, R. M., & Flores, G. (2012). Parental characteristics associated with bullying perpetration in us children aged 10 to 17 years. American Journal of Public Health, 102(12), 2280–2286. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300725.
Shtasel-Gottlieb, Z., Palakshappa, D., Yang, F., & Goodman, E. (2015). The relationship between developmental assets and food security in adolescents from a low-income community. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2), 215–222. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.10.001.
Spriggs, A. L., Iannotti, R. J., Nansel, T. R., & Haynie, D. L. (2007). Adolescent bullying involvement and perceived family, peer and school relations: Commonalities and differences across race/ethnicity. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(3), 283–293. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.04.009.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (p. c2007). Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Tippett, N., & Wolke, D. (2014). Socioeconomic status and bullying: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 104(6), e48–e59. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.301960.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. (2007). The thrifty food plan, 2006, CNPP-19. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/publications/foodplans/miscpubs/tfp2006report.pdf/.
Wang, J., Iannotti, R. J., & Nansel, T. R. (2009). School bullying among adolescents in the United States: Physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45(4), 368–375. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.03.021.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Oliver W. Edwards and Gordon Taub declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Edwards, O.W., Taub, G.E. Children and Youth Perceptions of Family Food Insecurity and Bullying. School Mental Health 9, 263–272 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-017-9213-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-017-9213-8