Perceived Income Adequacy Versus Household Income as a Measure of Socioeconomic Status in 6 Countries, 2022-2023...

Household income is a common indicator of socioeconomic status in population surveys; however, measures such as perceived income adequacy are increasingly used as alternatives. We used a multicountry dataset to explore the utility of perceived income adequacy as compared with household income, focusing on missing data rates, associations with household food security, and responses from young people versus parents.

We conducted online surveys in 2022-2023 among adults (n = 50 913) and young people (aged 10-17 y; n = 23 013) as part of the International Food Policy Study in Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We used descriptive analyses to examine missing data for income adequacy and household income adjusted for household size. We used linear regression models to test the association between the income measures, their associations with household food security, and their correspondence in reported income adequacy between young people and parents.

The proportion of missing data was greater for household income (5.3%; n = 2688) than for income adequacy (1.0%; n = 488). Income adequacy and household income were positively correlated (r = 0.25-0.44; P < .001 for all countries). Both measures independently predicted household food security (P < .001 for all countries), with a stronger association observed for income adequacy. Family income adequacy reported by young people was strongly associated with parental reports (r = 0.47-0.62; P < .001 for all).

Perceived income adequacy may be preferrable to traditional household income measures for assessing the effect of financial position on health-related outcomes, particularly among young people and older or retired populations, for whom household income may be difficult to report.