Mental Health of Students Reporting Food Insecurity during the Transition to University
Abstract
Purpose: The present study examined differences in mental health and well-being between students with and without suspected food insecurity during their transition to university. Methods: We drew on existing data from 4 samples of first-year undergraduates enrolled at 3 large universities in 3 provinces (Alberta n = 199, Québec n = 299, and Ontario n = 461 and n = 510). Students completed online surveys assessing a wide range of health-related behaviours and indicators, and students were classified as food secure or insecure based on their responses to screening questions. Results: Mental health (depression, anxiety, low satisfaction with life) was consistently poorer in students classified as food insecure across all samples. The magnitude of mental health deficit was comparable to socioeconomic disadvantage associated with food insecurity. Conclusions: Students experiencing food insecurity are disproportionately launching their university careers with poorer mental health, revealing a critical point of intervention for these socioeconomically higher-risk students.
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Food insecurity among post-secondary students is linked to dietary compromises, poorer mental health, poorer overall health, and poorer academic achievement.
“Understanding the scale and severity of food insecurity among post-secondary students in Canada is important given studies linking this condition to dietary compromises [21], poorer mental health [12, 13, 19, 22], poorer overall health [10, 12, 13], and poorer academic achievement [10, 12, 13, 21] among students.”
From Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of food insecurity among post-secondary students and non-students of similar age in Canada (2023) · cites this paper as [22]
Cites
The Rise and Fall of Depressive Symptoms and Academic Stress in Two Samples of University Students
Barker, E. T., Howard, A. L., Villemaire-Krajden, R., & Galambos, N. L. (2018) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-018-0822-9 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Self-citation<i>Food Insecurity in University Students</i> Receiving Financial Aid
Meldrum, L. A., & Willows, N. D. (2006) · Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research · doi:10.3148/67.1.2006.43 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Student food insecurity at the University of Manitoba
Entz, M., Slater, J., & Desmarais, A. A. (2017) · Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation · doi:10.15353/cfs-rcea.v4i1.204 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Determining Student Food Insecurity at Memorial University of Newfoundland
Blundell, L., Mathews, M., Bowley, C., & Roebothan, B. (2019) · Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research · doi:10.3148/cjdpr-2018-026 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
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Wang, Y., St-Germain, A.-A. F., & Tarasuk, V. (2023) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-023-15756-y · Cited by 6 · see citing works
- Authors
- Howard, A. L., & Barker, E. T.
- Affiliations
- Carleton University (CA)
- Concordia University (CA)
- Venue
- Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
- Publisher
- Dietitians of Canada
- Published
- 2021-09-01
- Volume
- 82
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 125-130
- ISSN
- 1486-3847 (ISSN-L)
- 2292-9592
- OpenAlex
- W3156564754
- Cited by
- 8
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 1.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Lifestyle Studies
- Keywords
- food insecurity, student mental health, transition to college, first-year undergraduates, depression, anxiety, life satisfaction, socioeconomic deprivation, university students
- MeSH terms
- Food Insecurity, Cross-Sectional Studies, Food Supply, Humans, Mental Health, Socioeconomic Factors, Students, Universities
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