[Validation of a household food security scale in Antioquia, Colombia]

To adapt and validate in households of Antioquia, Colombia, a food security scale previously applied in households of Caracas, Venezuela.

The study was carried out in 44 municipalities in the department of Antioquia, Colombia, in 2003 and 2004, with a randomly selected sample of 1 624 rural and urban households with children under 10 years of age, representative for family units located in the department of Antioquia. The sample was selected using a confidence interval of 95% and an error of 3%. Household food security scale previously used by Paulina Lorenzana in Venezuela were validated for this survey. Internal consistency of the scale was determined using the Spearman correlation coefficient and Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. Construct validity was established through principal components analysis for categorical data. Prinqual procedure and Rasch modeling were used to define the components and items in the scale.

Factor analysis showed two components: 1) variables related to "food insecurity without hunger", which is explained in 95%; 2) variables related to "food insecurity with hunger", which is explained in 89.4%. Cronbach's Alpha coefficients for "food insecurity without hunger" and "food insecurity with hunger" were 0.95 and 0.89, respectively. When analyzed using Rasch modeling, all items showed infit values within a range of 0.8 and 1.2. The scale correlated significantly (p < 0.000) with food availability, begging, children's labor, household size, and occupation of the head of household.

The scale can be considered a reliable instrument for assessing food insecurity in Antioquia households.