Research Proposal (Research Blog #4)

 1. Working Title:
How Food and Housing Insecurity Impact College Students


2. Topic Description:
    The rising costs of college has increased the financial burden of paying for college for students and their families, causing some students to have needs, like food and stable housing, that are left unfulfilled. According to “Prevalence and correlates of food insecurity among U.S. college students: a multi-institutional study,” limited financial resources; rising costs of tuition, food, and housing; and decreased buying power of federal aid has made college students vulnerable to food insecurity (El Zein et al.). I will explore the prevalence of food and housing insecurity amongst college students and examine the impact that it has on their education and wellbeing. In Addressing Housing Insecurity and Living Costs in Higher Education: a Guidebook for Colleges and Universities, the authors state, “These challenges affect students’ quality of life, their capacity to learn, and their ultimate success in school” (Sackett et al.). It is important to recognize the needs of students and work to try to help them, especially when the unmet needs of students can harm them. Additionally, a better understanding of the existence and impact of the problem can encourage more efforts to resolve it. The responsibility of paying for college being shifted to families through the privatization of higher education has made it so that there is a greater burden on the families, which can lead to food and housing insecurity when the students and their families are unable to afford the high costs.
    Controversies surrounding the topic of food and housing insecurity involve questions over whether the government is doing enough and whether it should be the school or government’s responsibility to help the students. Chad Klitzman, in his piece “College Student Homeless: A Hidden Epidemic,” explains that many colleges and universities do not have the resources to meet all students’ needs (Klitzman 587). Since this topic relates to welfare and government assistance, people question whether the students deserve assistance (like food stamps) or whether they are being dependent on the government and lazy. Some feel that the government is already doing enough while others advocate for the government to do more.


3. Research Question(s)
Why are students experiencing food and housing insecurity? How many students are affected by food and/or housing insecurity and does it vary by institution type, race, and/or region? How does food and housing insecurity impact students’ education and wellbeing? What efforts are being made to combat the issue and what more can be done?


4. Theoretical Frame(s)
    To frame the discussion surrounding food and housing insecurity and to best analyze case studies, it is important that I consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. To be able to see the impact that food and housing insecurity has on a student’s education and wellbeing, I need to assess how a lack of food and/or stable housing holds them back from fulfilling other, less pressing needs. In “The Relationship Between Food Security, Housing Stability, and School Performance Among College Students in an Urban University,” the authors discuss Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and explain that “[w]hen a student is having trouble meeting their basic physiological needs—such as getting their next meal or where they will sleep that night—concentrating and performing well in school may be a futile endeavor” (Silva et al. 295). When students are concentrated on meeting their basic needs and surviving, it distracts them from their focus on their education and overall wellbeing.
It is important to acknowledge and examine the stress brought onto students due to food and housing insecurity and how it can impact their wellbeing and health. When students are worrying about meeting their basic needs, they experience greater levels of stress than students who have stable access to food and shelter. Research presented in “Prevalence and Correlates of Food Insecurity among U.S. College Students: A Multi-Institutional Study" reveals, “Food-insecure students reported higher perceived stress, a greater prevalence of disordered eating behaviors, and poorer sleep quality compared to food-secure students” (El Zein et al.). Being unable to meet their physiological needs, the base of Maslow’s hierarchy, causes stress to the students that further harms their health/wellbeing and academic performance. 


5. Case(s) or Examples
    In “California Community Colleges #RealCollege Survey,” the document details the results of a survey distributed to almost 40,000 students attending 57 community colleges in California in the fall of 2016 and 2018. Researchers asked the students about basic need insecurity, such as food and housing insecurity. The results reveal that “50% of respondents were food insecure in the prior 30 days, 60% of respondents were housing insecure in the previous year, [and] 19% of respondents were homeless in the previous year” (Goldrick-Rab et al. 2). This source addresses the prevalence of the food and housing insecurity among college students, especially for those attending community colleges in California. More specific statistics in the document can provide more details about which groups/demographics have higher rates of basic need insecurity and how the insecurity impacts students’ education/grades. 

 

6.  Working Bibliography

El Zein, Aseel, et al. "Prevalence and Correlates of Food Insecurity among U.S. College Students: A Multi-Institutional Study." BMC Public Health, vol. 19, 2019. ProQuest, https://login.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/login?url= ?url=https://www-proquest-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/scholarly-journals/prevalence-correlates-food-insecurity-among-u-s/docview/2243537991/se-2?accountid=13626, doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/10.1186/s12889-019-6943-6.

Food Insecurity on Campus: Action and Intervention, edited by Katharine M. Broton, and Clare L. Cady, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/lib/rutgers-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6184603. 

Goldrick-Rab, Sara et al. California Community Colleges #RealCollege Survey. The Hope Center, 2019, https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/RealCollege-CCCCO-Report.pdf.

Klitzman, Chad. "College Student Homelessness: A Hidden Epidemic." Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems, vol. 51, no. 4, Summer 2018, p. 587-620. HeinOnline, https://heinonline-org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/collsp51&i=615. 

Sackett, Chase, et al. Addressing Housing Insecurity and Living Costs in Higher Education: a Guidebook for Colleges and Universities. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 2016.

Silva, Meghan R., et al. “The Relationship Between Food Security, Housing Stability, and School Performance Among College Students in an Urban University.” Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, vol. 19, no. 3, Nov. 2017, pp. 284–299, doi:10.1177/1521025115621918.