Citation
Johnson, Cassandra M.; Ammerman, Alice S.; Adair, Linda S.; Aiello, Allison E.; Flax, Valerie L.; Elliott, Sinikka; Hardison-Moody, Annie; & Bowen, Sarah K. (2020). The Four Domain Food Insecurity Scale (4D-FIS): Development and Evaluation of a Complementary Food Insecurity Measure. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 10(6), 1255-1265. PMCID: PMC7796713Abstract
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Security Survey Module (FSSM) is a valuable tool for measuring food insecurity, but it has limitations for capturing experiences of less severe food insecurity. To develop and test the Four Domain Food Insecurity Scale (4D-FIS), a complementary measure designed to assess all four domains of the food access dimension of food insecurity (quantitative, qualitative, psychological, and social). Low-income Black, Latina, and White women (n = 109) completed semi-structured (qualitative) and structured (quantitative) interviews. Interviewers separately administered two food insecurity scales, including the 4D-FIS and the USDA FSSM adult scale. A scoring protocol was developed to determine food insecurity status with the 4D-FIS. Analyses included a confirmatory factor analysis to examine the hypothesized structure of the 4D-FIS and an initial evaluation of reliability and validity. A four-factor model fit the data reasonably well as judged with fit indices. Results showed relatively high factor loadings and inter-factor correlations indicated that factors were distinct. Cronbach's alpha (ɑ) for the overall scale was 0.90 (subscale ɑ ranged from 0.69 to 0.91) and provided support for the scale's internal consistency reliability. There was fair overall agreement between the 4D-FIS and USDA FSSM adult scale, but agreement varied by category. Findings provide preliminary support for the 4D-FIS as a complementary measure of food insecurity, with implications for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working in U.S. communities.URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibaa125Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2020Journal Title
Translational Behavioral MedicineAuthor(s)
Johnson, Cassandra M.Ammerman, Alice S.
Adair, Linda S.
Aiello, Allison E.
Flax, Valerie L.
Elliott, Sinikka
Hardison-Moody, Annie
Bowen, Sarah K.
Article Type
RegularPMCID
PMC7796713Continent/Country
United States of AmericaState
NonspecificRace/Ethnicity
BlackHispanic/Latinx
White
Sex/Gender
WomenORCiD
Adair - 0000-0002-3670-8073Aiello - 0000-0001-7029-2537
Flax - 0000-0003-0200-3355