Food insecurity is inversely associated with positive childhood experiences among a nationally representative sample of children aged 0–17 years in the USA

Abstract Objective: We examined the association between food insecurity and positive childhood experiences (PCE). Design: Outcome measure was number of PCE and seven PCE constructs. Food insecurity was assessed with a three-category measure that ascertained whether the respondent could afford and choose to eat nutritious food. We then used bivariate and multivariable Poisson and logistic regressions to analyse the relationship between food insecurity and the outcome measures. The analyses were further stratified by age (≤ 5, 6–11 and 12–17 years). Setting: The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) from 2017 to 2020, a nationally representative sample of children and adolescents in the USA. Participants: Parents/caregivers who reported on their children’s experiences of PCE and food insecurity from the 2017–2020 NSCH (n 114 709). Results: Descriptively, 22·13 % of respondents reported mild food insecurity, while 3·45 % of respondents reported moderate to severe food insecurity. On multivariable Poisson regression analyses, there was a lower rate of PCE among children who experienced mild (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0·93; 95 % CI 0·92, 0·94) or moderate/severe food insecurity (IRR = 0·84; 95 % CI 0·83, 0·86) compared with those who were food secure. We found an inverse relationship between food insecurity and rate of PCE across all age categories. Conclusions: Our study finding lends evidence to support that interventions, public health programmes, as well as public health policies that reduce food insecurity among children and adolescents may be associated with an increase in PCE. Longitudinal and intervention research are needed to examine the mechanistic relationship between food insecurity and PCE across the life course.