Food Security Status – Short Form

Abstract

The Food Security Status – Short Form is a streamlined psychometric instrument derived from the comprehensive U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module (US HFSSM). This six-item scale is designed to quickly and efficiently assess the prevalence and severity of
food insecurity
experienced by a household over the preceding 12 months. It measures the continuum of food access issues, ranging from anxiety about food supply and compromised diet quality to severe deprivation involving reduced food intake and the experience of
hunger. The resulting scores classify households into distinct categories of
food security
status, making it a critical tool for public health surveillance, policy evaluation, and clinical screening.

Keywords

Food security, food insecurity, hunger, household survey, poverty, dietary quality, social determinants of health, psychometrics, USDA

Authors

Bickel, G., Nord, M., Price, C., Hamilton, W., Cook, J. (Associated with the development of the core USDA Household Food Security Survey Module)

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Food Security Status – Short Form is to provide a reliable and concise measure for differentiating households based on their experiences related to food access and availability. By utilizing a reduced set of questions, the instrument minimizes respondent burden while maintaining sufficient sensitivity to categorize the severity of food insecurity.

Specifically, this short form allows researchers and program administrators to classify households into three distinct categories: food secure, food insecure without hunger, and food insecure with
hunger. This classification is vital for targeting nutritional assistance programs and monitoring trends in household well-being across various populations.

Construct

The scale measures the psychological and behavioral manifestation of
food insecurity, which is defined as the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. The construct is operationalized through a series of affirmative responses indicating increasing levels of difficulty in obtaining sufficient food due to resource constraints.

The items progress hierarchically, reflecting the stages a household typically goes through when facing resource scarcity: first, concern about running out of food; second, compromising the quality and variety of the diet; and finally, reducing the quantity of food consumed, leading to the physical sensation of
hunger. This progression aligns with the underlying theoretical model developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Validity

The validity of the Short Form is anchored in the extensive psychometric work conducted on the full US HFSSM. The original 18-item module, from which this short form is derived, was developed using Item Response Theory (IRT) modeling, specifically the Rasch model, which establishes a robust, unidimensional hierarchy of food deprivation experiences.

The six items selected for the Short Form were chosen because they represent key points along the severity continuum of food insecurity, demonstrating strong discriminatory power. Criterion validity is supported by consistent correlations between the scale score and indicators of socioeconomic status, dietary quality, and participation in food assistance programs.

Reliability

While the source content does not provide specific coefficients, the Short Form is generally regarded as having high reliability, inheriting the robust measurement properties of the parent US HFSSM. Reliability is often assessed through internal consistency and test-retest methods. Because the scale items form a Guttman-like scale (or a Rasch model hierarchy), the internal consistency is inherently strong, as individuals who endorse a severe item are expected to endorse all less severe items.

Factor Analysis

Formal factor analysis (or, more precisely, Item Response Theory modeling) of the full US HFSSM confirms that the scale measures a single, underlying dimension of severity in household food deprivation. The items of the Short Form align well with this unidimensional structure. The scale successfully separates experiences related to anxiety and dietary compromise (less severe) from those involving reduced intake and physical
hunger (most severe).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report/Interviewer-Administered Questionnaire

Format: 6 dichotomous or trichotomous items, followed by a scoring algorithm.

Language Available: English, Spanish (as noted in Harrison et al., 2003).

Population Group: Households (Adult respondents reporting on behalf of the household).

Age Group: Adults (18+).

Population Details: Applicable to general populations in the United States and internationally where food access is a concern. The instrument is validated for diverse socioeconomic and demographic groups.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked about the frequency (Often, Sometimes, Never) or occurrence (Yes/No) of specific situations related to food shortages and resource limitations over the past 12 months. Affirmative responses are summed to yield a final score, which is then mapped to the three security categories:

• 0-1 affirmative responses = Food secure
• 2-4 affirmative responses = Food insecure without
  hunger
• 5-6 affirmative responses = Food insecure with
  hunger

Keywords

US HFSSM, Rasch model, Item Response Theory, food insecurity measurement, public health, nutrition survey, Latinx families, household food access

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not Specified

Affiliation Email addresses: Not Specified

Correspondence Address: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Alexandria VA.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The core US Household Food Security Survey Module and its short forms are generally considered public domain instruments developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and are widely used without specific licensing fees for research and non-commercial purposes.

The development and guidance for measuring
food security in the U.S., which led to the standardization of this short form, were formalized around the year 2000 (Bickel et al., 2000). The instrument is frequently updated and utilized in major federal surveys.

The original PDF guide for measuring household food security can be downloaded here: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsec/FILES/FSGuide.pdf

Reference’s

• Bickel, G., Nord, M. Price, C., Hamilton, W., & Cook, J. (2000). Measuring food security in the United States: Guide to measuring household food security. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Alexandria VA. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsec/FILES/FSGuide.pdf
• Harrison, G. G., Stormer, A., Herman, D. R., & Winham, D. M. (2003). Development of a Spanish-language version of the U.S. Household Food Security Survey module. The Journal of Nutrition, 133(4), 1192-1197.
• The instrument can be found on pages 134-136 of Latino Families and Youth: A Compendium of Assessment Tools, available online at: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=23171&Itemid

Items of the Food Security Status – Short Form

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

INSTRUCTIONS:

I’m going to read you two statements that people have made about their food situation. Please tell me whether the statement was OFTEN‚ SOMETIMES‚ or NEVER true for (you/you and the other members of your household) in the last 12 months.

1. The first statement is‚ “The food that (I/we) bought just didn’t last‚ and (I/we) didn’t have money to get more.” Was that often‚ sometimes‚ or never true for (you/your household) in the last 12 months?
• [1] Often true
• [2] Sometimes true
• [3] Never true
• [Don’t know‚ Refused]
2. “(I/we) couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals.” Was that often‚ sometimes‚ or never true for (you/your household) in the last 12 months?
• [1] Often true
• [2] Sometimes true
• [3] Never true
• [DK‚ R]
3. In the last 12 months‚ since (date 12 months ago) did (you/you or other adults in your household) ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money for food?
• [1] Yes
• [2] No
• [DK‚ R]

If any of the first three questions are answered affirmatively (Q1‚ Q2 = Often true‚ Sometimes true; Q3 = Yes)‚ proceed to the next 3 questions. Otherwise‚ skip the next 3 questions.

4. How often did this happen –almost every month‚ some months but not every month‚ or in only 1 or 2 months?
• [1] Almost every month
• [2] Some months but not every month
• [3] Only 1 or 2 months
• [DK‚ R]
5. In the last 12 months‚ did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money to buy food?
• [1] Yes
• [2] No
• [DK‚ R]
6. In the last 12 months‚ were you ever hungry but didn’t eat because you couldn’t afford enough food?
• [1] Yes
• [2] No
• [DK‚ R]