Measuring Food Security among American Indian and Alaska Native Adults: Validity Evidence Supports the Use of the US Department of Agriculture Module

Background: Inequities in access, availability, and affordability of nutritious foods produced by settler colonialism contribute to high rates of food insecurity among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) households. Efforts to understand the influences of food security programming among AI/AN individuals in the United States are constrained by the absence of validity evidence for food security assessments for this population.

Objective: This study assessed whether AI/AN adult responses on the Food Security Survey Module provide an accurate assessment of food security prevalence, especially when compared with other racial and ethnic groups.

Design: A correlational design with the cross-sectional 2019 National Health Interview Survey was used to address the research objective.

Participants and setting: The 2019 National Health Interview Survey contains a sample (N = 30,052) representative of the resident civilian noninstitutionalized population.

Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was food security, as characterized by the 10-item US Department of Agriculture Adult Food Security Survey Module. The module evaluates whether insufficient finances result in perceived food shortages and a reduction in the quantity and/or quality of food intake during the prior 30 days.

Statistical analyses performed: Data were analyzed by racial and ethnic subsamples to assess scale dimensionality (confirmatory factor analysis), Item Response Theory item analysis, differential item functioning, and external validity (χ² tests).

Results: Results supported the use of the 10-item module for racial and ethnic groups. However, differential item functioning effect sizes exceeded criteria for the Asian, AI/AN, and Hispanic respondents when compared with White respondents. Food security was not significantly related to all expected correlates in the AI/AN subsample.

Conclusions: Compelling evidence is presented for validity of the FSSM scores in determining food security status of AI/AN adults. Qualitative inquiry that explores how culture influences the way food security is conceptualized and experienced is warranted.