ERIC Number: EJ1190024
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0316-1218
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Available Date: N/A
"Hungry for an Education": Prevalence and Outcomes of Food Insecurity among Students at a Primarily Undergraduate University in Rural Nova Scotia
Frank, Lesley
Canadian Journal of Higher Education, v48 n2 p109-129 2018
This paper reports on food insecurity among students attending a university in rural Nova Scotia. In 2015, 1,030 students completed an online, 38-item cross-sectional survey. The results report that 38.1% of students experienced food insecurity during the previous 12 months. Food insecurity was statistically associated with living arrangements, source of funds for schooling, meal plans, and year of study. Poor overall health, poor mental health, high stress, and poor academic performance were significantly higher for food-insecure students. Students employed multiple coping strategies, with implications for academic success and long-term debt. Qualitative analysis revealed four themes related to insufficient money for food: inability to cover basic needs, health-related outcomes of persistent worry, loss of time from learning, and impacts on social life. This research demonstrates the need to re-evaluate funding policies for post-secondary education in Canada to ensure students can afford the costs of basic needs and educational costs.
Descriptors: Food, Hunger, College Students, Rural Schools, Low Income Students, Physical Health, Mental Health, Stress Variables, Academic Achievement, Coping, Social Life, Foreign Countries, Student Needs, Place of Residence, Income, Student Characteristics, Debt (Financial)
Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education. P.O. Box 34091, RPO Fort Richmond, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5T5, Canada. Tel: 204-474-6404; Fax: 204-474-7561; e-mail: csshe@cc.umanitoba.ca; Web site: http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
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