No food for thought: Food insecurity is related to poor mental health and lower academic performance among students in California’s public university system
University of South Carolina, University of Michigan
Publication Release Date: June 25, 2018
Date Posted: Aug. 6, 2018
Submitted by: Tessie Devlin
Sustainability Topics:
Food & Dining,
Wellbeing & Work
Content Type:
Publications
Periodical Name: Journal of Health Psychology
Type: Journal Article
Description
This study examined the relationships between food insecurity, mental health, and academic performance among college students in a California public university system (N = 8705). Structural equation modeling was performed to examine a direct path from food insecurity to student grade point average and an indirect path through mental health, controlling for demographic characteristics. Food insecurity was related to lower student grade point average directly and indirectly through poor mental health. These findings support the need for future interventions and policy on the importance of providing students with the basic needs to succeed both academically and in the future.