Table 2.

Number of positive and negative life experiences reported by caregivers in the Midlands Family Study (2012–2013), by experience type and food security status (n 511)

	Total (n 511)		Food secure (n 147)		Food insecure without child hunger(n 190)		Child hunger (n 174)
Overall caregiver experiences
Total number	5317	100 %	1290	24 %	1958	37 %	2069	39 %
Positive	1910		602		693		615
Negative	3407		688		1265		1454
Counts of experiences, mean and sd
Positive	3·72	2·87	4·07	2·87	3·63	2·90	3·51	2·82
Negative	6·67	4·20	4·68	3·40	6·66	4·00	8·36	4·29
Impact score of experiences, mean and sd
Positive	8·71	7·16	9·77	7·46	8·46	6·93	8·09	7·08
Negative	12·23	9·71	7·61	6·95	12·32	9·42	16·05	10·36
Specific categories of caregiver experiences
Spouse/partner relationships
Positive	343		97		121		125
Negative	248		57		93		98
Work and/or financial stability
Positive	422		156		155		111
Negative	859		152		337		370
Family and other personal relationships
Positive	560		183		205		172
Negative	1050		228		379		443
Personal events and behavioural changes
Positive	585		166		212		207
Negative	1250		251		456		543

Definition of experience categories as follows: (i) spouse/partner relationships (e.g. marriage, divorce, death of a spouse/partner, pregnancy, engagement, etc.); (ii) work and/or financial stability (e.g. new job, being fired from job, foreclosure of mortgage, taking out a large loan, retirement, etc.); (iii) family and other relationships (e.g. gaining a new family member, death of a family member, serious injury or illness, change in closeness of family, change in living conditions, offspring leaving home, etc.); (iv) personal events and behavioural changes (e.g. major personal illness, major change in sleeping or eating habits or social activities or church, major personal achievement, minor law violation, detention in jail, etc.).