Campus Location

Abilene Campus (Residential)

Date of Award

8-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Social Work

Degree Name

Master of Science

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Kyeonghee Jang

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Rachel Slaymaker

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Darrin Cox

Abstract

Food insecurity amongst college students is a rising crisis. Students’ inability to access nutritional food on a consistent basis can negatively impact student retention, academic success, mental and physical health, and social mobility, all of which are at an even greater risk due to the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, children and adolescents in primary and secondary school who experience food insecurity can experience developmental delays, which can impede their ability to obtain a postsecondary degree. Limited research has been conducted on the topic of food insecurity at private universities as well as identifying chronic food insecurity. The present study aims to describe the prevalence of food insecurity among college students as well as examine related factors in relation to food insecurity such as sociodemographic factors and prior experiences of food insecurity while in primary or secondary school. It utilized a cross-sectional survey for a convenience sample of 222 college students at a private university in Texas. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed the statistically significant effect of the prior experiences of food insecurity on current food insecurity disappeared when other factors were additionally considered. The student’s first-generational status was the only significant factor. The findings imply colleges and universities, particularly private universities should address areas in need of improvement, namely student supportive services. This study suggests further studies continue to verify identified findings in the study with a more representative and larger sample.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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