Holiday Hunger and Parental Stress: Evidence from North East England

Paul B. Stretesky, Margaret Anne Defeyter, Michael A. Long, Liesel A. Ritchie and Duane A. Gill
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Paul B. Stretesky: Health Living Lab, Department of Social Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
Margaret Anne Defeyter: Healthy Living Lab, Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7XA, UK
Michael A. Long: Department of Sociology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
Liesel A. Ritchie: Department of Sociology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
Duane A. Gill: Department of Sociology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: Summer is a stressful time of year for many parents as they struggle to meet household expenses and feed children. The aim of the present study is to determine if there is an association between summertime food insecurity (i.e., holiday hunger) and parental stress among a sample of UK parents with school age children living in North East England. A cross-sectional sample of ( n = 252) parents are analyzed using holiday hunger as the independent variable and a subjective measure of stress that treats summer as a ‘stressful event’ as the dependent variable. Of the parents in the sample, 64.8% reported at least some level of holiday hunger. We find parents facing any holiday hunger scored substantively higher on the overall 75-point Impact of Event Scale (mean difference = 30.4, 95% confidence interval ((CI) 24.2–36.6), the 35-point intrusion subscale (13.7, 95% CI 10.8–16.5), and the 40-point avoidance subscale (16.7, 95% CI 13.3–20.2). These findings are replicated in a regression analysis. In addition, we find that holiday hunger partially mediates the association between economic hardship (i.e., unemployment and poverty) and parental stress. We conclude by suggesting that government policies addressing economic hardship are not only likely to reduce holiday hunger, but also improve mental wellbeing.

Keywords: seasonal food insecurity; parental wellbeing; mental health; summer childcare; family stress model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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