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Liu, Kyara Jiayen

Adverse child experiences have been found to be strongly associated with chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance use in adulthood (CDC, 2021; Steele et al., 2016). The quality and stability of parenting as a result can impact the occurrence of adverse childhood experiences (Steele et al., 2016). As such, parental health is a particularly important area to study, due to the impacts it can have on household stability and thus the development of their children. The relationship between mental health and food insecurity has also been indicated by many studies, thus making the food security status of parents a particularly important area of study with reference to child health (Huddleston-Casas et al., 2009; Tarasuk & Mitchell, 2020). Educational attainment has stood out as a predictor of parental relationships, poverty and subsequently health (Braveman et al., 2011). This study will examine three hypotheses; (a) less educated single parents experience worse mental health mediated by food insecurity than highly educated partnered parents, (b) within less educated single parents, women have the worst mental health mediated by food insecurity and (c) highly educated single mothers have better food security and mental health than less educated single mothers. Analyzing the 2017/2018 cycle of the Canadian Community Health survey, I implemented binary logistic regression to find that less educated single parents were most likely to be food insecure and subsequently have the worst mental health. Furthermore, single mothers were more likely to be food insecure than single fathers (regardless of educational attainment) and among single mothers, education decreased the likelihood of food insecurity. Finally, gay/bisexual and Indigenous parents were more likely to be food insecure and have worse mental health, highlighting the impacts of systems of inequality on marginalized families. Policy should aim to address issues in racial and LGBTQ+ equity around food insecurity. Furthermore, support for single parents in the workforce and child care are necessary to close disparities in food insecurity and mental health.

Text

University of British Columbia. SOCI 433A

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0413144

Arts, Faculty of; Sociology, Department of

Undergraduate

DSpace