Department of Behavioral Sciences & Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE, GCR 523, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Public Health Nutr. 2019 Mar;22(3):476-485. doi: 10.1017/S1368980018003439.
To examine whether psychosocial health mediates the association between food insecurity and grade point average (GPA) among college and university students.
Data for the present study are from a longitudinal cohort study. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the proposed mediation hypothesis. Food insecurity was measured using the US Department of Agriculture's Six-Item Short Form. Psychosocial health was operationalized as a latent factor with three indicators: depression, anxiety and hope. Validated scales were used to measure each indicator. GPA was self-reported.
Seven colleges and universities in Georgia, USA.ParticipantsStudents aged 18-25 years were recruited via email and surveyed every four months over a two-year period (analytic n 2377).
Approximately 29 % of students were food insecure. In the final SEM, food insecurity was associated (standardized β, se) with poorer psychosocial health (0·22, 0·03, P<0·0001) and poorer psychosocial health was associated with a lower GPA (-0·21, 0·03, P<0·0001). The indirect effect of food security status on GPA, as mediated by psychosocial health, was significant (-0·05, 0·01, P<0·0001) and accounted for 73 % of the total effect. After accounting for psychosocial health, the direct effect of food security status on GPA was not significant (-0·02, 0·02, P=0·43).
Psychosocial health may be an important mechanism through which food insecurity affects academic performance among college and university students. Multicomponent interventions that address immediate food security needs as well as co-occurring mental health and academic concerns are needed to ensure student success.
探讨大学生群体中，心理社会健康是否在食物不安全与平均绩点（GPA）之间起中介作用。
本研究数据来自一项纵向队列研究。采用结构方程模型（SEM）检验提出的中介假设。采用美国农业部的六项目短表来测量食物不安全情况。心理社会健康被操作化为一个包含三个指标的潜在因素：抑郁、焦虑和希望。使用验证过的量表来测量每个指标。GPA 由学生自己报告。
美国佐治亚州的七所学院和大学。
年龄在 18-25 岁之间的学生通过电子邮件被招募，并在两年的时间里每四个月接受一次调查（分析 n=2377）。
约 29%的学生存在食物不安全。在最终的 SEM 中，食物不安全状况与较差的心理社会健康状况呈正相关（标准化β，se）（0·22，0·03，P＜0·0001），较差的心理社会健康状况与较低的 GPA 呈正相关（-0·21，0·03，P＜0·0001）。食物安全状况通过心理社会健康对 GPA 的间接影响具有统计学意义（-0·05，0·01，P＜0·0001），占总效应的 73%。在考虑心理社会健康状况后，食物安全状况对 GPA 的直接影响不具有统计学意义（-0·02，0·02，P=0·43）。
心理社会健康可能是食物不安全影响大学生学业成绩的一个重要机制。需要采用多组分干预措施，既要解决当前的食物安全需求，又要解决同时存在的心理健康和学业问题，以确保学生的成功。
