Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Childhood food insecurity in America is a persistent social problem that has received a great deal of attention from researchers. However, a key limitation of the current body of research is that it has to a large degree focused on children in the early childhood or primary education period of the life course. This study examines how exposure to food insecurity during adolescence affects education outcomes during the transition to adulthood. Our conceptual model assumes that exposure to food insecurity changes family functioning, mental health and cognitive ability in ways that disadvantage youth as they complete their high school education and transition to college. We use longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine the extent to which young adult educational outcomes differ for children who experience food insecurity during the adolescent period 12-15. Specifically, we measure educational attainment by measuring whether the individual (1) completed high school; (2) completed some college (defined as having earned college credits but had not formally earned a degree); (3) earned a college degree; and (4) earned a college degree on-time. Preliminary results suggest that even after controlling for features of permanent income, food insecurity exposure during the adolescent period is associated with decreases in high school completion, obtaining at least some college, obtaining a college degree and finishing college on-time. Exposure to food insecurity before adolescence is only associated with finishing college on-time.