Characterizing the within-person variability of food insecurity in everyday life

Food insecurity (FI), the lack of access to adequate food, is linked with negative health and psychological outcomes. FI is typically measured retrospectively over the last year; although this measurement is useful to understand FI prevalence to inform broad policy, it leaves the experience of FI in everyday life poorly understood. Understanding how FI varies across shorter periods of time (days or weeks) can help inform FI prevention and/or intervention. This study characterizes within-person (day-to-day) variance in FI in everyday life. Low-income parents of school-aged children at risk for FI (n = 153) completed daily text message surveys in two-week bursts. Daily FI was measured with 4 yes/no items ranging in severity: worry about food, parent eating less than they should, child eating less than they should, and skipping meals. Items were analyzed as a sum score and individually (to examine FI severity). Among parents who reported FI at least once, FI meaningfully varied day-to-day within individuals (~26% of variation). Different indicators of FI, however, had different proportions of between- and within-person variability: Worry about food, a less severe aspect of FI, had 32% daily variation, whereas the more severe aspect of meal skipping had 45% daily variation. Thus, although substantial between-person differences in FI exist, there is meaningful within-person variability in FI. -person FI variability may be related to the indicator (e.g., severe FI shows greater within-person variability). Considering within-person FI variability, and not just average FI level, may help us understand how FI undermines functioning and how and when best to intervene.