Exploration of how emotional social support predicts food insecurity among college students

Food insecurity has broad detrimental impacts on college students, including failing grades, depression, and social disconnection. Social disconnection is concerning as students often use various support resources to manage food insecurity. Racial disparities in food insecurity are well documented in the literature. The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship between constructs of emotional support and food insecurity among African American and White students. A validated electronic survey based on the Sense of Support Scale and the U.S. Food Security Scale was utilized for the study. Results indicated that specific constructs of emotional social support were associated with food insecurity (OR: 3.778; p = .011); (OR: -2.116; p = .036). Students who reported strong emotional ties were more likely to experience food insecurity (OR = - 3.837, p = .044). Findings implicate further campus outreach to all students.