Session: Food-based Programs and Interventions: Lessons Learned From Produce Rx to Federal Food Programs (Oral 35)
(OR35-06-24) Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Positively Associated With Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation in U.S. Households With Children
Senior Research Analyst USDA Food & Nutrition Service Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Objectives: Although the main purpose of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is to provide benefits to eligible low-income households to ensure financial access to a healthy and nutritious diet and improve food security, SNAP also serves as a financial resource for households that are dealing with difficult socioeconomic conditions. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as financial hardship, parental divorce, or witnessing domestic violence are more likely to occur in low-income households and it is possible that these households participate in SNAP at higher rates to help improve socioeconomic conditions. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between ACEs and SNAP participation among children in low-income U.S. households. I hypothesize that SNAP participation will be more likely as the number of ACEs a household endures increases.
Methods: Using data from the 2016-2022 National Survey of Children’s Health, I analyzed a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of children who lived in low-income ( < 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL)) households (n=57,750). Nine items measured ACEs and one question measured SNAP participation in the previous 12 months. General linear models with a binomial link function were used to test the association between ACEs and SNAP participation, with state-level fixed effects and adjusting for possible socioeconomic confounders.
Results: Forty-four percent of households participated in SNAP. Twenty-seven percent, 13%, and 16% of households experienced one, two, or three or more ACEs, respectively. As the number of ACEs increased, SNAP participation was more likely. Compared to children with zero ACEs, children who had one, two, or three or more ACEs had 1.50 (P < 0.001), 1.83 (P < 0.001), and 2.48 (P < 0.001) times the odds of SNAP participation, respectively. These results generally remained the same in significance and magnitude for households living in poverty ( < 100% of the FPL).
Conclusions: SNAP participation and ACEs were relatively common in this nationally representative sample of low-income households and were significantly and positively associated. Our findings suggest that SNAP is an important factor in assuring access to a healthy and nutritious diet in households with children that experience ACEs.
