Table 1.
Prevalence of past year food insecurity and past month food insufficiency by sociodemographic characteristics of emerging adult respondents to the COVID-19 Eating and Activity over Time survey in April to October 2020
| Characteristics | Overall sample (n) | Past year food insecuritya, n (%) | P value | Past month food insufficiencyb, n (%) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 720 | 216 (30) | 92 (12.8) | ||
| Sex | 0.02 | 0.002 | |||
| Female | 447 | 148 (33.1) | 71 (16) | ||
| Male | 263 | 66 (25.1) | 21 (8) | ||
| Another sex identityc | 10 | 8 (80) | 0 (0) | ||
| Age (y) | 0.88 | 0.53 | |||
| 21-24 | 353 | 107 (30.2) | 48 (13.7) | ||
| 25-29 | 367 | 109 (29.7) | 44 (12) | ||
| Ethnicity/race | 0.001 | 0.02 | |||
| White | 213 | 47 (22.1) | 17 (8) | ||
| Hispanic or Latino | 119 | 33 (27.7) | 13 (11) | ||
| Asian American | 172 | 51 (29.6) | 22 (12.9) | ||
| Black or African American | 130 | 45 (34.6) | 23 (18) | ||
| Mixed or other | 85 | 39 (45.9) | 17 (20) | ||
| Parent socioeconomic statusd | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||
| Low | 231 | 89 (38.5) | 42 (18.3) | ||
| Low-middle to middle | 265 | 85 (32.1) | 37 (14) | ||
| Upper-middle to high | 210 | 36 (17.1) | 10 (4.8) | ||
| Employment status | 0.10 | 0.02 | |||
| Working full-time | 354 | 99 (28) | 38 (10.8) | ||
| Working part-time | 114 | 29 (25.4) | 14 (12.3) | ||
| Temporarily laid off or unemployed | 162 | 62 (38.3) | 33 (20.5) | ||
| At-home caregiver/not working for pay | 66 | 19 (28.8) | 6 (9.2) | ||
| Household receipt of public assistancee | <0.001 | 0.004 | |||
| No | 556 | 126 (22.7) | 60 (10.8) | ||
| Yes | 161 | 87 (54) | 31 (19.5) | ||
| Eligibility for free/reduced-price mealsf | 0.19 | 0.48 | |||
| No | 30 | 13 (43.3) | 6 (20.7) | ||
| Yes | 55 | 32 (58.2) | 15 (27.8) | ||
| Living with a child(ren) of your own | 0.001 | 0.005 | |||
| No | 598 | 163 (27.3) | 67 (11.2) | ||
| Yes | 122 | 53 (43.4) | 25 (20.8) | ||
| Living with parent(s) | 0.008 | 0.02 | |||
| No | 396 | 135 (34.1) | 61 (15.5) | ||
| Yes | 324 | 81 (25) | 31 (9.6) | ||
| Access to a car or other personal vehicle | 0.008 | ||||
| No | 138 | 154 (39.1) | 23 (17) | 0.10 | |
| Yes | 581 | 161 (27.7) | 69 (11.9) |
Participants responded to the short form of the US Household Food Security Survey Module. Scores based on the number of affirmative responses were used to define food insecurity (score of 2+).
Participants were asked “In the past month, did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food?” and “In the past month, were you ever hungry but didn’t eat because there was not enough money for food?” Food insufficiency was determined by reporting yes to both questions. Four participants did not respond to both questions.
Participants who identified with another sex identity were excluded from the testing of sex differences due to small numbers.
The primary determinant of socioeconomic status was parental educational level, defined by the higher level of either parent. Additional measures of income and employment were used as part of an algorithm to reduce the impact of missing data and to prevent misclassification in ranking socioeconomic status (range: 1-5). Low socioeconomic status was defined as rank 1, middle socioeconomic status as rank 2 to 3, and upper socioeconomic status as rank 4 to 5.
Participants reported receipt of benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
Participants were asked to report only if they had a child of their own of age 5+ years.