1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«In the present study, we test the relationship between food insecurity in early childhood (before age 4 ½) and children’s symptoms of depression/anxiety, aggression, and hyperactivity/inattention up to age 8, accounting for child and familial characteristics which may be associated with food insecurity and children’s mental health: child’s sex, immigrant status, family structure, maternal age at child’s birth, family income, maternal and paternal education, prenatal tobacco exposure, maternal and paternal depression, family functioning and negative parenting.» (p. 154)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Data for this study come from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD) study, which follows a representative cohort of 2120 children born in the Canadian province of Quebec in 1997–1998. […] The present analysis is based on [a subsample of] 1682 children […].» (p. 154-155)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

Results show that «[i]n a birth cohort study of families with young children followed for up to 8 years, [...] food insecurity predicted children’s two-fold increase in the likelihood of persistent hyperactivity/inattention, even after accounting for family socioeconomic circumstances and parental mental health, although this association lost statistical significance when further adjusted for children’s behavioural symptoms at age 1 ½ years.» (p. 162) The authors conclude that «[c]hildren growing up in food-insecure families are two-times more likely to have high levels of persistent symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention than children who are not food insecure. Reducing the burden of food insecurity in families could help decrease the burden of mental health problems in school-aged children and reduce social inequalities in development.» (p. 165)