TABLE 2—
Food Insecurity and Socioeconomic Characteristics, by Household Overcrowding (n = 281): Nunavik Child Development Study, Quebec, 2005–2010
| Overcrowding |
|||
| Characteristics | No | Yes | Testa (95% CI) |
| Total | 113 (40.21) | 168 (59.79) | |
| Food insecurity | |||
| Enough food to eat, no. (%) | |||
| Yes | 81 (71.68) | 93 (55.36) | |
| No | 32 (28.32) | 75 (44.64) | 2.04** (1.22, 3.43) |
| Cut down on the size of adults’ meals, no. (%) | |||
| Yes | 36 (31.86) | 75 (44.64) | |
| No | 77 (68.14) | 93 (55.36) | 1.72* (1.04, 2.86) |
| Cut down on the size of children’s meals, no. (%) | |||
| Yes | 19 (16.81) | 55 (32.74) | |
| No | 94 (83.19) | 113 (67.26) | 2.41** (1.32, 4.39) |
| Food insecure, no. (%) | |||
| No affirmative responses | 68 (60.18) | 75 (44.64) | |
| ≥ 1 affirmative response | 45 (39.82) | 93 (55.36) | 1.87* (1.15, 3.06) |
| Caregiver characteristics | |||
| Age in y, mean ±SD | 39.48 ±9.53 | 38.34 ±8.51 | 1.13 (−1.01, 3.27) |
| Marital status, no. (%) | |||
| Not in a relationship | 39 (34.51) | 34 (20.24) | |
| In a relationship | 74 (65.49) | 134 (79.76) | 2.08** (1.20, 3.59) |
| Socioeconomic status via Hollingshead Index,b mean ±SD | 30.32 ±1.21 | 27.01 ±0.80 | 3.31* (0.57, 6.05) |
| Occupational status, no. (%) | |||
| No occupation | 21 (18.58) | 35 (20.83) | |
| Unskilled laborers/semiskilled | 21 (18.58) | 51 (30.36) | 1.46 (0.69, 3.08) |
| Skilled craftsmen, clerical, sales | 26 (23.01) | 38 (22.62) | 0.88 (0.42, 1.84) |
| Technical, small business | 19 (16.81) | 14 (8.33) | 0.44 (0.18, 1.09) |
| Professionals | 26 (23.01) | 30 (17.86) | 0.69 (0.32, 1.48) |
| Education, y, mean ±SD | 8.52 ±2.62 | 8.36 ±2.37 | 0.16 (−0.43, 0.75) |
| Education, no. (%) | |||
| Primary school completed (≤ 6 y) | 13 (11.50) | 20 (11.90) | |
| High school not completed (7–11 y) | 91 (80.53) | 143 (85.12) | 1.02 (0.48, 2.16) |
| High school completed (≥ 12 y) | 9 (7.96) | 5 (2.98) | 0.36 (0.09, 1.39) |
| Social assistance, no. (%) | |||
| Working, not receiving welfare | 86 (79.63) | 116 (73.42) | |
| Not working, not receiving welfare | 16 (14.81) | 33 (20.89) | 1.53 (0.79, 2.97) |
| Not working, receiving welfare | 6 (5.56) | 9 (5.70) | 1.11 (0.38, 3.25) |
| Coast of residence, no. (%) | |||
| Hudson Bay | 47 (41.59) | 127 (76.05) | |
| Ungava Bay | 66 (58.41) | 40 (23.95) | 0.22*** (0.13, 0.39) |
| Household characteristics | |||
| Total no. of people, mean ±SD | 4.72 ±1.11 | 7.83 ±2.48 | −3.12*** (−3.61, −2.63) |
| No. of adults, mean ±SD | 2.12 ±0.77 | 3.36 ±1.78 | −1.25*** (−1.60, −0.90) |
| No. of children, mean ±SD | 2.60 ±0.94 | 4.47 ±1.67 | −1.87*** (−2.21, −1.53) |
Note. CI = confidence interval. Overcrowding is defined as more than 1 person per room.
a
χ2 test for categorical variables, t test for continuous variables.
b
Hollingshead Index is based on the level of educational attainment of both parents and the degree of social prestige associated with the type of occupation. Percentages do not include missing values; there were 11 missing values (3.8%) for the variable overcrowding. After cross-tabulation, there were 15 missing values (5.15%) for social assistance and 1 missing value (0.34%) for coast of residence.
*P < .05; **P < .01; ***P < .001.