**Self-Administered Food Security Survey Module for Children Ages 12
Years and Older**

September 2006

**[Background:]{.underline}** The Child Food Security Survey Module was
developed by researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi in
collaboration with ERS and documented in "Food Security of Older
Children Can Be Assessed Using a Standardized Survey Instrument," by
Carol L. Connell, Mark Nord, Kristi L. Lofton, and Kathy Yadrick
(published by the *Journal of Nutrition*, vol. 134, no. 10, pp. 2566-72,
2004). Internal validity of the module was found adequate for children
ages 12 and older, but its use is not recommended for younger children.

Initial validation was conducted in a sample of children from a school
in Mississippi. Use of the module in other regions of the country should
be considered exploratory until further validation assessment is
conducted.

Cognitive testing indicated that recall and responses for a 12-month
period might not be reliable, and a 30-day reference period is
recommended.

**\[Begin Child Food Security Survey Module\]**

The following questions are about the food situation in your home
**during the last month**. Please circle the answer that best describes
you. Do not put your name on the paper. Your answers will remain a
secret.

1\. Did you **worry** that food at home would run out before your family
got money to buy more?

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ A LOT

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ SOMETIMES

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ NEVER

2\. Did the food that your family bought **run out**, and you didn't
have money to get more?

\_\_\_\_\_ A LOT

\_\_\_\_\_ SOMETIMES

\_\_\_\_\_ NEVER

3\. Did your meals only include a few kinds of **cheap foods** because
your family was running out of money to buy food?

\_\_\_\_\_ A LOT

\_\_\_\_\_ SOMETIMES

\_\_\_\_\_ NEVER

4\. How often were you not able to eat a **balanced meal** because your
family didn't have enough money?

\_\_\_\_\_ A LOT

\_\_\_\_\_ SOMETIMES

\_\_\_\_\_ NEVER

5\. Did you have to **eat less** because your family didn't have enough
money to buy food?

\_\_\_\_\_ A LOT

\_\_\_\_\_ SOMETIMES

\_\_\_\_\_ NEVER

6\. Has the size of your meals **been cut** because your family didn't
have enough money for food?

\_\_\_\_\_ A LOT

\_\_\_\_\_ SOMETIMES

\_\_\_\_\_ NEVER

7\. Did you have to **skip a meal** because your family didn't have
enough money for food?

\_\_\_\_\_ A LOT

\_\_\_\_\_ SOMETIMES

\_\_\_\_\_ NEVER

8\. Were you **hungry** but didn't eat because your family didn't have
enough food?

\_\_\_\_\_ A LOT

\_\_\_\_\_ SOMETIMES

\_\_\_\_\_ NEVER

9\. Did you not eat for a **whole day** because your family didn't have
enough money for food?

\_\_\_\_\_ A LOT

\_\_\_\_\_ SOMETIMES

\_\_\_\_\_ NEVER

**\[End of Child Food Security Survey Module\]**

**User Notes**

**[(1) Coding Responses and Assessing Children's Food Security
Status:]{.underline}**

Responses of "a lot" or "sometimes" are coded as affirmative. The sum of
affirmative responses to the nine questions in the Child Food Security
Module is the respondent's raw score on the scale.

Provisional classification guidance (updated to be consistent with
USDA's 2006 labels for other scales) is as follows:

-   Raw score 0---High food security

-   Raw score 1---Marginal food security

-   Raw score 2-5---Low food security

-   Raw score 6-9---Very low food security

For some reporting purposes, the food security status of youth with raw
score 0-1 is described as food secure and the two categories "low food
security" and "very low food security" in combination are referred to as
food insecure.

For statistical procedures that require an interval-level measure, the
following scale scores, based on the Rasch measurement model may be
used:

+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Number of affirmatives     | Scale Score                              |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 0                          | NA                                       |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 1                          | -0.1                                     |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 2                          | 1.9                                      |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 3                          | 3.4                                      |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 4                          | 4.7                                      |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 5                          | 5.9                                      |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 6                          | 7.2                                      |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 7                          | 8.7                                      |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 8                          | 10.8                                     |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| 9                          | 12.5                                     |
|                            |                                          |
| (evaluated at 8.5)         |                                          |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+

However, no interval-level score is defined for youth who affirm no
items. (They are food secure, but the extent to which their food
security differs from those who affirm one item is not known.)