Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Springer Nature - PMC COVID-19 Collection logoLink to Springer Nature - PMC COVID-19 Collection
. 2022 Dec 20;4(2):171–176. doi: 10.1007/s42844-022-00087-5

Associations Between Food Skills and Resilience in Adults Ages 18 to 45 in the USA During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020 April–June): A Brief Report

Savanna Phares 1, Andrea Irving 1, Maureen McCoy 1, Carol S Johnston 1,✉
PMCID: PMC9764296  PMID: 36569589

Abstract

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, there were limited options for eating away from home, obligating many US adults to prepare foods at home, a situation that provided an opportunity to examine relationships between food skills, resilience, and coping in the initial months of the pandemic. This research surveyed a convenience sample of adults (n = 134; 18–45 years of age) from the Phoenix Metropolitan area when a “stay at home” pandemic directive was mandated in the state of AZ. The study objective was to explore how food skills correlated to resilience and whether resilience directly related to the ability to manage oneself during this time. Previously validated measures for food skills and resiliency were utilized for the online questionnaire, which also included the question, “I was able to manage myself during the Coronavirus Pandemic.” The Spearman’s rank order correlation test and a linear, stepwise regression analysis were used to examine relationships between scores. Participants scored at the 77% percentile for total food skill proficiency, and at the 84th percentile for resilience. Both total food skills and resilience were correlated to the ability to self-manage during COVID-19 (r = 0.246 and r = 0.444, respectively; p ≤ 0.004). The stepwise linear regression model retained only the food skill domain “food selection and planning” as a significant predictor of resilience (standardized coefficient, 0.278; 99% CI [− 0.056, 0.414]; p < 0.05). These data suggest that resilience and food skills factored into participants’ ability to self-manage during the COVID-19 mandate, “stay at home.”

Keywords: Food skills, Resilience, COVID-19, Stay at home

Introduction

On March 12, 2020, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (2020). To slow viral spread, the US government encouraged citizens to avoid eating in bars and restaurants (Center for Disease Control, 2020). The safest meal option was to prepare food at home. However, a large portion of the US population is accustomed to eating out, and over one-third of calories consumed by US adults were from food obtained outside of the home, termed food away from home (FAFH) (Todd, 2017; United States Department of Agriculture, 2018). One appeal of FAFH may relate to the lack of cooking skills. In a recent national survey encompassing 1457 US adults (≥ 18 years of age), mean item scores for cooking and food skills ranged from the 66 to 77% percentile (Wolfson et al., 2020). Using national representative data set, Smith et al., (2013) reported that only about one-half of US adults cook at home.

It is possible that a lack of food skills factored into an individual’s ability to cope during the pandemic. Resilience is a measure of coping, e.g., the ability to bounce back from challenging life experiences. It is the ability to maintain wellbeing despite experiencing difficulties and setbacks (Babić et al., 2020; Hoorelbeke et al., 2015; Pakalniškienė et al., 2016). Factors that promote resilience include personality traits, family coherence, and social resources, but also biologics and genetics (Herrman et al., 2011). One pandemic report recently demonstrated that the personality traits conscientiousness and openness contributed indirectly to constructive psychological adaptations to the crisis by promoting resilience (Zager Kocjan et al., 2021).

The “stay home” mandate by federal and state governments created difficulties for many, including a transition to preparing food at home. These events provided the opportunity to examine relationships between food skills and resilience early in the pandemic. Utilizing validated questionnaires administered online, this research engaged a convenience sample of adults (18–45 years of age) from a university campus in Phoenix, AZ, to examine how resilience was related to ability to manage oneself early in the pandemic and how food skills were correlated to resilience in this timeframe.

Methods

Participants

Email notices and social media messages announcing the study targeted a university community in Phoenix, AZ, from April 20 to June 1, 2020. For context, on March 30, the governor issued a statewide stay-at-home order, barring Arizonans from leaving their residences except for food, medicine, and essentials (County Supervisor Association of Arizona, 2021). This executive order was rescinded May 15; however, COVID-19 case numbers continued to increase exponentially peaking in early July 2020. On June 29, 2020, the Governor of Arizona issued a “pause of Arizona’s reopening” order in efforts to slow viral spread. The study advertisements directed interested adults who met the inclusion criteria (18–45 years of age, living independently with access to a kitchen, and responsible for acquiring/preparing their meals) to an online survey that took ~ 10 min to complete. All participants provided consent, and the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Arizona State University (exempt status, #STUDY00011858).

Measures

The survey was composed of measures for food skills and resilience, as well as demographic and health questions (participant age, gender, student status, weight, height, physical activity level based on a 5-item scale from sedentary to high intensity, and living situation). Body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) was calculated from self-reported weight and height.

The food skill measure was developed by Kennedy and colleagues (Kennedy et al., 2019) and incorporated both basic-level food skills (e.g., ability to follow a simple recipe, to peel, chop, and slice) and intermediate-level food skills (e.g., ability to adjust a recipe to make it healthier, to plan a meal using foods already in the home). There were three domains of food skills: food selection and planning (nine questions), food preparation (20 questions), and food safety/storage (10 questions) (Kennedy et al., 2019). Answers were scored on Likert scales with a maximum score of 100 in each domain; the total food skill score across the three domains was computed as a weighted average (Kennedy et al., 2019; Mahmoud et al., 2021). The measure demonstrated strong content validity, face validity, test–retest reliability, and good inter-item reliability (Kennedy et al., 2019).

Resilience was measured using the Resilience Scale-14 (RS-14), a shortened, validated version of the widely used 25-item Resilience Scale developed by Wagnild and Young (1993). The RS-14 has demonstrated strong content validity and reliability in numerous reports (Callegari et al., 2016; Surzykiewicz et al., 2019; Losoi et al., 2013). Questions were scored on a scale of 1–7 (item anchors, strongly disagree and strongly agree), and total scores ranged from 14 to 98 (suggested scoring interpretation: 14–56 = very low, 57–64 = low, 65–73 = on the low end, 74–81 = moderate, 82–90 = moderately high, and 91–98 = high) (Losoi et al., 2013). In addition to these measures, participants were asked the questions: “I was able to manage myself during the Coronavirus Pandemic” (7-point answer from “strongly disagree to strongly agree”) and “I tested positive (or was presumed positive) for COVID-19” (true or false).

Data Analyses

Data are reported as mean ± SD, except for figures when SE is displayed. Descriptive variables were compared by gender using the Mann–Whitney U test or the chi square test. Spearman’s rank order correlation test was used to examine relationships between variables. A linear, stepwise regression analysis was used to identify predictor variables for resilience, which included the three food skill components as well as gender, age, BMI, and physical activity. Outliers (> 3 standard deviations from the mean) were removed for correlation analyses (resilience, n = 1; food selection and planning, n = 2; food preparation, n = 2; food safety, n = 1). The SPSS statistics software for Windows version 25 (IBM Corporation) was used for all analyses, and a p value less than 0.05 indicated significance.

Results

All adults who accessed the survey completed the survey (n = 154), but 20 respondents were excluded due to age (> 45 years of age, n = 9) or because they lived with parents (n = 11). Of the 134 participants, 82% were female; age averaged 28.7 ± 7.8 years, and BMI averaged 25.8 ± 5.3 kg/m2 (Table 1). Weekly physical activity did not differ by gender, and > 70% of participants were classified as moderate-to-intensely active. Almost two-thirds of participants were students, and over one-half of participants lived with a roommate. Nearly 75% of participants reported preparing meals from scratch “often” or “usually.”

Table 1.

Participant characteristics, food skills scores, and resilience score1

Male
n = 23		 Female
n = 111		 p
Age, years 27.7 ± 6.2 28.9 ± 8.1 0.90
Body Mass Index, kg/m2 29.0 ± 6.0 25.1 ± 4.9 0.001
Food selection and planning score 67.6 ± 21.7 77.6 ± 13.3 0.08
Food preparation score 69.8 ± 12.3 74.8 ± 89.5 0.05
Food safety score 80.3 ± 10.2 83.1 ± 8.6 0.28
Total food skills score 72.6.3 ± 13.4 78.5 ± 9.0 0.06
Resilience score 79.4 ± 10.8 81.9 ± 8.7 0.23
Open in a new tab

1Data are mean ± SD; p represents Mann Whitney test

The male participants scored slightly lower than the females for food skills (Table 1). The average total food skills score for all participants was 77.0 ± 10.2, and proficiency was fairly consistent across the three domains: food selection and planning, 75.9 ± 15.4; food preparation, 73.9 ± 10.2; and food safety, 82.6 ± 8.9. Only 5% of participants scored at or above the 90th percentile for total food skills. On average, participants scored 81.5 ± 9.1 for resilience, placing the sample at the top of the “moderate resilience” category. Resilience did not differ by gender (Table 1) and was not related to age, BMI, or student status; however, physical activity was weakly related to resilience (r = 0.116, p = 0.055), a relationship noted for both genders.

Nearly 75% of the sample declared that they “agree” or “strongly agree” to the statement, “I have been able to manage myself during the COVID-9 pandemic.” Only three female respondents had been diagnosed with the coronavirus at the time of the survey. Results of the Spearman rho correlation testing demonstrated that both the total food skills and the resilience scores were directly related to the ability to self-manage at the time of the survey (r = 0.246 and r = 0.444, respectively, p ≤ 0.004) (Fig. 1). Resilience was correlated to two of the food skill domain scores: selection and planning (r = 0.338, p < 0.001) and food preparation (0.294, p = 0.001) (Fig. 2). These associations remained significant after controlling student status or whether the survey was completed prior to or after May 15, 2020. Food safety scores were not related to resilience (r = 0.096, p = 0.278). A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the independent determinants of resilience; the model included the input variable food selection and planning score, food preparation score, food safety score, gender, age, BMI, and physical activity. Only the food selection and planning score (standardized coefficient, 0.278; 99% CI [− 0.056, 0.414]; p < 0.05) remained as the independent determinant of resilience.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Open in a new tab

Resilience (a) and total food skills (b) scores factored by ability to manage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both panels display significant relationships (r = 0.444 and 0.246 for panels (a) and (b), respectively; p ≤ 0.004 Spearman’s rank order correlation test)

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

Open in a new tab

Correlations between scores for resilience and the food skill domains (a food selection and planning; b food preparation; c food safety) (n = 130). Food selection and planning and food preparation scores were significantly correlated to resilience scores (Spearman’s rank order correlation test; p ≤ 0.001)

Discussion

The data suggest that both resilience and food skills factored into participants’ ability to self-manage during the pandemic. Links between cooking skills and positive personal traits during the pandemic have been reported by others. In Brazilian adults (n = 4780) during a period of severe stay-at-home restrictions (May–June 2020), those who enjoyed cooking and were confident in their cooking abilities reported the greatest tranquility, faith, and confidence (Lima Tribst et al., 2021). Totosy de Zepetnek and colleagues (Totosy de Zepetnek et al., 2021) reported that “grit,” a concept incorporating resilience, was higher for US adults (n = 888) who reported higher diet quality in the early months of the pandemic. In this survey, diet quality included assessments of rarely eating “takeout,” “regular processed foods,” or “fried foods,” all consistent with cooking meals at home. These studies support a link between cooking skills and resilience.

The shift to home cooking during the pandemic is well documented. In an April 2020 survey of primarily US adults (n = 7753), consumption of FAFH declined by 41% (p < 0.001) and cooking meals at home increased 15% (p < 0.001) from pre-pandemic levels (Flanagan et al., 2021). Hunter Food and Beverage Communications polled 1005 US adults in April 2020 and showed that 54% of individuals reported cooking more frequently since the start of the pandemic, a trend that was maintained through December 2020 (FOOD navigator-usa.com, 2021). Cohen et al., (2022) surveyed 1756 low-income US adults in June 2020 and reported that the frequency of eating out fell ~ 80% for individuals accustomed to eating out 2–3 times weekly pre-pandemic.

Considering this shift to cooking at home and the link between food skills and resilience noted herein, it is possible that food skills factored in as a coping strategy during pandemic-related restrictions. In support of this concept, a pre-pandemic report of Miketinas and colleagues (Miketinas et al., 2016) used the constructs of the self determination theory to examine personality development and behavioral self-regulation in the context of cooking skills. They demonstrated a moderate relationship between perceived cooking competency and autonomy and autonomy support (r = 0.3–0.40; p < 0.001). The positive link reported herein between food skills and resilience is a novel finding, and future work would be necessary to determine whether food skills are a modifiable predictor of resilience.

Food skills are acquired through experience and training. Completion of a basic food course was associated with a greater degree of food skills among 3354 college students (Seabrook et al., 2019). Mahmoud and colleagues (Mahmoud et al., 2021) demonstrated a significant improvement in food planning skills in students after attending three cooking classes. These investigators administered the same food skill questionnaire used in the present study and observed an 8% improvement in food skill scores during the intervention. The prospect that well-designed cooking and nutrition education for adults may improve food skills is a strong argument for increasing such opportunities.

Study strengths include the use of previously validated questionnaires to measure food skills and resilience and a survey timeframe that overlapped with the “stay-at-home” mandate executed by the Governor of Arizona early in the pandemic (March 30–May 15, 2020). However, data interpretation is limited by unknown contextual conditions which may factor into the study results; furthermore, survey responses were subject to self-report bias. The research was conducted in a small convenience sample of adults recruited from a large university campus in Phoenix, AZ, limiting the generalization of the results. It is notable that for residents in Maricopa County, which includes the city of Phoenix, health care access surpasses national averages while depression rates fall below national averages (Maricopa County Public Health, 2020). Finally, these data are cross-sectional, and causality cannot be inferred.

Conclusions

This research demonstrated that food skills were positively linked to resilience and participants’ ability to self-manage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Resilience is a trait linked to wellbeing and perseverance. Nurturing resilience in individuals will help them to overcome life challenges which are ever more present in today’s world. More research is necessary to confirm a link between food skills and resilience and to demonstrate that the acquisition of food skills strengthens resilience.

Author Contribution

SP, AI, MM, and CSJ conceived the study. CSJ designed and performed the analysis. SP and CSJ wrote the paper, and AI and MM provided content and editorial comment.

Data Availability

Available upon request by contacting the corresponding author.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

Declarations

Ethics Approval

Approved by the Arizona State University Institutional Review Board; exempt status (#STUDY00011858).

Consent to Participate

Consent statement preceded the survey measure.

Consent for Publication

Not applicable.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

References

  1. Babić R, Babić M, Rastović P, Ćurlin M, Šimić J, Mandić K, Pavlović K. Resilience in health and illness. Psychiatria Danubina. 2020;32(Suppl 2):226–232. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Callegari C, Bertù L, Lucano M, Ielmini M, Braggio E, Vender S. Reliability and validity of the Italian version of the 14-item Resilience Scale. Psychology Research and Behavior Management. 2016;3(9):277–284. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S115657. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Center for Disease Control. (2020). The president’s coronavirus guidelines for America. Retrieved May 15, 2021, from https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/politics/government-and-elections/2020/03/031620-coronavirus-guidance.pdf
  4. Cohen JFW, Posluszny H, Falbe J, Mueller MP, Gearhardt AN, Leung CW, Wolfson JA. Restaurant dining during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults with low-income in the United States. Appetite. 2022;1(173):105976. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.105976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. County Supervisor Association of Arizona. (2021) Governor’s executive orders. Retrieved May 15, 2021, from http://www.countysupervisors.org/governors-executive-orders-directives/
  6. Flanagan EW, Beyl RA, Fearnbach SN, Altazan AD, Martin CK, Redman LM. The impact of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders on health behaviors in adults. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2021;29(2):438–445. doi: 10.1002/oby.23066. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. FOOD navigator-usa.com (2021). Survey: Americans committed to maintaining cooking habits in post-pandemic world. Retrieved 2022 October 11 from https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2021/01/15/Survey-Americans-committed-to-maintaining-cooking-habits-in-post-pandemic-world?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright
  8. Herrman H, Stewart DE, Diaz-Granados N, Berger EL, Jackson B, Yuen T. What is resilience? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie. 2011;56(5):258–265. doi: 10.1177/070674371105600504. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hoorelbeke K, Koster EH, Vanderhasselt MA, Callewaert S, Demeyer I. The influence of cognitive control training on stress reactivity and rumination in response to a lab stressor and naturalistic stress. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2015;69:1–10. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2015.03.010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kennedy LG, Kichler EJ, Seabrook JA, Matthews JI, Dworatzek P. Validity and reliability of a food skills questionnaire. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2019;51(7):857–864. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2019.02.003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lima Tribst, A. A., Baraldi, L. G., & Tramontt, C. R. (2021). Factors associated with diet changes during the COVID-19 pandemic period in Brazilian adults: Time, skills, habits, feelings and beliefs. Appetite, 105220. Advance online publication. 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105220 [DOI] [PubMed]
  12. Losoi H, Turunen S, Wäljas M, Helminen M, Öhman J, Julkunen J, Rosti-Otajärvi E. Psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the resilience scale and its short version. Psychology, Community & Health. 2013;2(1):1–10. doi: 10.5964/pch.v2i1.40. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  13. Mahmoud, S., Seabrook, J. A., Dworatzek, P., & Matthews, J. I. (2021). Using the Food Skills Questionnaire (FSQ) to evaluate a cooking intervention for university students: A pilot study. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research : A publication of Dietitians of Canada = Revue canadienne de la pratique et de la recherche en dietetique : Une publication des Dietetistes du Canada, 82(1), 41–44. 10.3148/cjdpr-2020-024 [DOI] [PubMed]
  14. Maricopa County Public Health. (2020). 2019 CCHNA: Community health status report. Retrieved 2022 October 8 from, https://www.maricopa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/66054/2019-Community-Health-Status-Report
  15. Miketinas D, Cater M, Bailey A, Craft B, Tuuri G. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the Adolescent Motivation to Cook Questionnaire: A self-determination theory instrument. Appetite. 2016;105:527–533. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.06.024. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Pakalniškienė V, Viliūnienė R, Hilbig J. Patients’ resilience and distress over time: Is resilience a prognostic indicator of treatment? Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2016;69:88–99. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2016.05.010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Seabrook, J. A., Dworatzek, P., & Matthews, J. I. (2019). Predictors of food skills in university students. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research: A publication of Dietitians of Canada = Revue canadienne de la pratique et de la recherche en dietetique : Une publication des Dietetistes du Canada, 80(4), 205–208. 10.3148/cjdpr-2019-011 [DOI] [PubMed]
  18. Smith LP, Ng SW, Popkin BM. Trends in US home food preparation and consumption: Analysis of national nutrition surveys and time use studies from 1965–1966 to 2007–2008. Nutrition Journal. 2013;11(12):45. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-12-45. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Surzykiewicz J, Konaszewski K, Wagnild G. Polish Version of the Resilience Scale (RS-14): A validity and reliability study in three samples. Frontiers in Psychology. 2019;17(9):2762. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02762. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Todd JE. Changes in consumption of food away from home and intakes of energy and other nutrients among US working-age adults, 2005–2014. Public Health Nutrition. 2017;20(18):3238–3246. doi: 10.1017/S1368980017002403. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Totosy de Zepetnek JO, Martin J, Cortes N, Caswell S, Boolani A. Influence of grit on lifestyle factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of adults in the United States. Personality and Individual Differences. 2021;175:110705. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110705. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (2018). America’s eating habits: Food away from home (No. 281119; Economic Information Bulletin). Retrieved May 15, 2021, from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uersib/281119.html
  23. Wagnild, G.M., Young, H.M. (1993). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Resilience Scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement. Winter;1(2), 165–78. [PubMed]
  24. Wolfson JA, Lahne J, Raj M, Insolera N, Lavelle F, Dean M. Food agency in the United States: Associations with cooking behavior and dietary intake. Nutrients. 2020;12(3):877. doi: 10.3390/nu12030877. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. World Health Organization. (2020). WHO announces COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic; 2020 Retrieved May 15, 2021, from https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/news/news/2020/3/who-announces-covid-19-outbreak-a-pandemic
  26. Zager Kocjan G, Kavčič T, Avsec A. Resilience matters: Explaining the association between personality and psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology: IJCHP. 2021;21(1):100198. doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2020.08.002. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Data Availability Statement

Available upon request by contacting the corresponding author.

Not applicable.

Articles from Adversity and Resilience Science are provided here courtesy of Nature Publishing Group

RESOURCES