TY - JOUR

T1 - Hunger in Vulnerable Families in Southeastern Europe: Associations With Mental Health and Violence

AU - Jansen, Elena

AU - Lachman, Jamie

AU - Heinrichs, Nina

AU - Hutchings, Judy

AU - Baban, Adriana

AU - Foran, Heather

PY - 2020/4/15

Y1 - 2020/4/15

N2 - Background: Hunger can influence healthy development of children and has beenshown to be associated with other determinants of child health, such as violence withinthe family and maternal (mental) health problems. Whilst the majority of research hasbeen conducted in high-income countries with vulnerable populations, less is knownabout the circumstances in low-and-middle-income countries. This study explored theexperience of hunger in vulnerable families in three Southeastern European countries,and simultaneously examined relationships with four sets of risk factors—lack of financial,mental, familial, and social resources.Methods: Families (N = 140) were recruited for a parenting intervention targetingchild behavioral problems. Baseline data was collected on hunger, socioeconomiccharacteristics, mental health and wellbeing, family violence (i.e., child maltreatment andintimate partner violence), and social and emotional support. Univariate and multivariablerisk factors of hunger were examined cross-sectionally with regression models.Results: Overall, 31% of families experienced at least one form of hunger in the lastmonth. Worse family functioning, current intimate partner violence, and more instances ofchild neglect showed univariate associations with family hunger. In hierarchical analysis,five risk factors remained significantly associated with the experience of hunger: loweradult educational, literacy level, emotional support, more children in the household andhigher scores on parental depression, anxiety, and stress.Conclusions: Hunger in Southeastern European families, among families with childrenshowing elevated behavioral problems, was associated with more family violence,but specifically poorer mental health and less emotional support above and beyondsocio-structural strains. Adapting parenting interventions to support the primary caregiverin getting more access to emotional support may potentially also change hunger andits association with health and violence. However, this hypothetical pathway of changeneeds explicit testing

AB - Background: Hunger can influence healthy development of children and has beenshown to be associated with other determinants of child health, such as violence withinthe family and maternal (mental) health problems. Whilst the majority of research hasbeen conducted in high-income countries with vulnerable populations, less is knownabout the circumstances in low-and-middle-income countries. This study explored theexperience of hunger in vulnerable families in three Southeastern European countries,and simultaneously examined relationships with four sets of risk factors—lack of financial,mental, familial, and social resources.Methods: Families (N = 140) were recruited for a parenting intervention targetingchild behavioral problems. Baseline data was collected on hunger, socioeconomiccharacteristics, mental health and wellbeing, family violence (i.e., child maltreatment andintimate partner violence), and social and emotional support. Univariate and multivariablerisk factors of hunger were examined cross-sectionally with regression models.Results: Overall, 31% of families experienced at least one form of hunger in the lastmonth. Worse family functioning, current intimate partner violence, and more instances ofchild neglect showed univariate associations with family hunger. In hierarchical analysis,five risk factors remained significantly associated with the experience of hunger: loweradult educational, literacy level, emotional support, more children in the household andhigher scores on parental depression, anxiety, and stress.Conclusions: Hunger in Southeastern European families, among families with childrenshowing elevated behavioral problems, was associated with more family violence,but specifically poorer mental health and less emotional support above and beyondsocio-structural strains. Adapting parenting interventions to support the primary caregiverin getting more access to emotional support may potentially also change hunger andits association with health and violence. However, this hypothetical pathway of changeneeds explicit testing

U2 - 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00115

DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00115

M3 - Article

VL - 8

JO - Frontiers in Public Health

JF - Frontiers in Public Health

SN - 2296-2565

M1 - 115

ER -