Food Insecurity and Common Mental Disorders among Ethiopian Youth: Structural Equation Modeling

Mulusew G Jebena, David Lindstrom, Tefera Belachew, Craig Hadley, Carl Lachat, Roos Verstraeten, Nathalie De Cock and Patrick Kolsteren

PLOS ONE, 2016, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: Background: Although the consequences of food insecurity on physical health and nutritional status of youth living have been reported, its effect on their mental health remains less investigated in developing countries. The aim of this study was to examine the pathways through which food insecurity is associated with poor mental health status among youth living in Ethiopia. Methods: We used data from Jimma Longitudinal Family Survey of Youth (JLFSY) collected in 2009/10. A total of 1,521 youth were included in the analysis. We measured food insecurity using a 5-items scale and common mental disorders using the 20-item Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Structural and generalized equation modeling using maximum likelihood estimation method was used to analyze the data. Results: The prevalence of common mental disorders was 30.8% (95% CI: 28.6, 33.2). Food insecurity was independently associated with common mental disorders (β = 0.323, P

Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0165931

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165931

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