Household Food Insecurity and Young Immigrant Children’s Health and Development Outcomes

Ying Huang, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)
Stephanie Potochnick, University of Missouri, Columbia
Colleen M. Heflin, University of Missouri, Columbia

Recent studies have shown that children of immigrants experience higher levels of food insecurity (FI) than children of US-born parents following welfare reform. While a growing body of literature has documented the negative effects of FI on children’s wellbeing, little is known about how children of immigrants are faring in terms of their health and development outcomes relative to children of US-born parents in the context of FI. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Birth Cohort, we examine the associations between household FI and development outcomes for children of immigrants and non-immigrants. Specifically, we investigate whether and how household FI experiences are associated with differential development outcomes at age 48-months for both groups by looking at three domains of child development, including cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical development. The study will shed light on mechanisms of how socioeconomic disparities may translate into development disadvantages between children of immigrants and non-immigrants.