Literature Review #3
“The Relationship Between Food Security, Housing Stability, and School Performance Among College Students in an Urban University”
By Meghan R. Silva, Whitney L. Kleinert, A. Victoria Sheppard, Kathryn A. Cantrell, Darren J. Freeman-Coppadge, Elena Tsoy, Tangela Roberts, and Melissa Pearrow
Citation
Summary
The article discusses how food and housing insecurity can impact academic success for students and includes data from a survey conducted at an urban, public university. The survey results revealed that nearly one fourth of the responding students experienced some form of food insecurity. Housing insecurity can hurt students’ class attendance, academic performance, and ability to continue/complete their education. Additionally, the authors discuss how other schools can use similar surveys to examine their students’ needs and act in a way to assist students experiencing or at risk of experiencing food and/or housing insecurity. The information provided by the article and survey, adding to an important but underexplored field, works to guide policies and programs that can help students.
Authors
Meghan R. Silva
At the time the article was published (2017), she was a doctoral candidate at UMass Boston in school psychology. Her interests include supporting schools in the utilization of assessment and intervention practices that promote empowerment, student acceptability, and social justice.
Whitney L. Kleinert
At the time of publication, she was a doctoral student in school psychology at UMass Boston and worked closely with Boston Public Schools. She has since earned her PhD in school psychology and now serves as an adjunct lecturer for the University of Alabama.
A. Victoria Sheppard
In 2017, she was a doctoral student in school psychology at UMass Boston, and has since earned her PhD. During the 2013-2014 academic year, she was a cohort co-liaison to the UACCESS (Office of Urban and Off-Campus Support Services), a program that helps UMass Boston students meet their basic needs so they can succeed academically and achieve their goals. She is interested in raising awareness on systemic inequalities.
Kathryn A. Cantrell
She was a doctoral student in counseling psychology at UMass Boston and has since earned her PhD. Her work is focused on health disparities and social justice. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Texas Woman’s University and an Adjunct Faculty member at Tufts University.
Darren J. Freeman-Coppadge
He was a doctoral student in counseling psychology at UMass Boston and has since earned his PhD. He holds a PharmD from the University of Maryland. During the 2013-2014 academic year, he was a cohort co-liaison to the UACCESS (Office of Urban and Off-Campus Support Services), a program that helps UMass Boston students meet their basic needs so they can succeed academically and achieve their goals.
Elena Tsoy
At the time of publication, she was an international doctoral student in counseling psychology at UMass Boston. She has since earned her PhD and is now a Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California San Francisco. She is interested in social justice and health disparities.
Tangela Roberts
In 2017, she was a doctoral student in counseling psychology at UMass Boston. She has since earned her PhD and is now an Assistant Professor at Western Michigan University. Her interests include social justice, intersectionality, race and ethnicity, LGBTQ issues, feminist theory and methods, relationships, and self-harm.
Melissa Pearrow
When the article was published, she was an Associate Professor of Counseling and School Psychology at UMass Boston. She still holds this position and has taught about social justice. She has a PhD in School Psychology from Northeastern University
Housing insecurity- the lack of an affordable, adequate, secure, and regular place to live or the sharing of housing due to a loss of previous housing, such as couch surfing
Food insecurity- a lack of consistent and/or sufficient access to nutritious, safe, acceptable foods caused by a lack of financial resources, as well as the psychological impact that this would have on individuals
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs- basic physiological needs (including food and shelter) need to be fulfilled before a person can achieve higher needs, like security, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization
“By uncovering the food and housing needs of the student body, the university would be better prepared to provide resources to confront these challenges to enhance academic experiences and increase graduation outcomes.” (Silva et al. 288)
“This study indicates that approximately one out of four students Sometimes or Often worry about having enough money to buy food, are unable to eat balanced meals, or actually skip meals. Vulnerability regarding access to food is not unique, with FI rates ranging from 14% at the University of Alabama, 21% at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, 39% at Western Oregon University, 56% at two community colleges in Maryland, to 59% at CUNY” (Silva et al. 293)
“According to the present study, students who experienced homelessness and severe FI were at profoundly greater academic risk in comparison with their peers who were not facing these challenges. Those who had been homeless were 13 times more likely to have failed courses and were 11 times more likely to have withdrawn or failed to register for more courses. Students who had experienced severe FI were nearly 15 times more likely to have failed courses and were 6 times more likely to have withdrawn or failed to register for more courses. FI may ultimately produce fatigue, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, irritability, general ability to learn new material, behavioral difficulties, and emotional problems, all of which can drastically affect students’ performance in the classroom” (Silva et al. 293-94)
“When 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)
Value
This article explains how prevalent food and housing insecurity is and the impact it has on students’ health/wellbeing and academic performance. It also discusses the efforts being made to combat the issues and help students and describes how schools can better recognize and respond to students’ unmet needs. The authors connect the issues to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a theoretical frame that helps to show the connection between food and housing insecurity and students’ health and academic performance. Additionally, the article details the results of a study conducted at a public, urban university, which can contribute to my intended exploration of how food and housing insecurity varies by institution type and/or region.
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