Food insecurity is associated with acculturation and social networks in Puerto Rican households.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether acculturation and social networks influence household food insecurity in an inner-city Puerto Rican community.


METHODS
A survey was administered to 200 low-income female Puerto Rican caregivers with at least 1 child 12-72 months old living in Hartford, CT. Food insecurity was measured with the Radimer/Cornell Hunger Scale. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify food insecurity risk factors.


RESULTS
Significant food insecurity risk factors included: being unemployed (odds ratio: 2.69), being single (2.34), being born in the United States (2.68), speaking only Spanish (3.15), planning to return to Puerto Rico (4.58), almost never/never attending Hispanic cultural events (6.85), and food stamps lasting less than a month (7.74).


CONCLUSIONS
Low levels of acculturation, lack of social networks, and poor food stamps management skills may influence household food insecurity.
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
Rajanigandha
R
Dhokarh
David A
DA
Himmelgreen
Yu-Kuei
YK
Peng
Sofia
S
Segura-Pérez
Amber
A
Hromi-Fiedler
Rafael
R
Pérez-Escamilla
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D007223:Infant; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011647:Puerto Rico; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors