Investigating the Relationship between Family’s Food Security and Social Support Received by Bushehri Mothers with Children Aged 7-12

The high level of food insecurity in Bushehr has made it necessary to identify the factors related to food insecurity in families. This study is conducted to determine the relationship between received social support and household food security from the perspective of mothers with 7-12 children.

In this controlled comparative study with a cross-sectional design, 153 mothers with children between 7-12  were selected with quota sampling method. First, First, the 18-item food security questionnaire regarding the United States Ministry of Agriculture was completed by mothers to create two safe and unsafe groups , and then, the social support questionnaire was completed by them.
was completed , To analyze the results, the researchers applied logistic regression, descriptive statistics, chi-square and t-test. The level of significance was set at 0.05.

Of the 153 mothers who participated in the study, 36/6% had high-school education, and only 22/2% were employed. The families of mothers with higher education tended to be in secure food group (p=0/05, x2=10/22). Moreover, in the families with food security, the children’s average age was less than the families with food insecurity (P-value=0/03, t=-2/13). In 74.5% of the mothers, the amount of the received support was found to be high. Logistic regression showed a relatively insignificant and positive relationship (OR=1/02 and p=0/002) between the received support and food security from the mothers' point of view.

Considering the insignificant relationship between household food security and the mothers’ received social support, other factors related to food insecurity, e.g. perceived social support and received social support in families aided by social service organizations should be explored.