Household food insecurity and educational outcomes in school-going adolescents in Ghana

Objectives:We examined the association of household food insecurity with educational outcomes and explored the moderating effect of gender and school lunch programme.Design:The study used a cross-sectional design. Data were collected in 2014 using interviewer-administered questionnaires and school administrative records. We measured household food insecurity using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Educational outcomes referred to knowledge, attitudes and skills that students are expected to obtain while attending school. We obtained sixteen different measures of educational outcomes, ranging from academic grades to beliefs and attitudes towards school and education. Data were analysed using multilevel modelling with covariates at the student and school levels. We conducted moderation tests by adding a two-way interaction between food insecurity and gender, and between food insecurity and school lunch programme.Setting:The study was conducted in 100 schools located in fifty-four districts within Ghana’s eight administrative regions in 2014.Participants:Participants included 2201 school-going adolescents aged 15–19 years.Results:More than 60 % of adolescents were from food-insecure households. Household food insecurity was negatively associated with Math grade and school attendance. Food insecurity was also inversely associated with socio-emotional outcomes, including academic self-efficacy, commitment to school and academic aspirations and expectations. We did not find a moderating effect of gender and school lunch programme.Conclusions:Food insecurity is negatively associated with wide-ranging educational outcomes related to both learning and socio-emotional abilities. Our study supports prior evidence suggesting the importance of food access on both cognitive and non-cognitive educational outcomes.