Collaborative research: Food insecurity and mental health in global perspective: Social and nutritional pathways

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Social inequality is recognized as a fundamental cause of many forms of human suffering. Although rooted in particular social and economic orders, social inequality also manifests in individual biology and psychology. However, the complex and interacting connections involved are not well understood; physical and mental health disparities can be both the cause and the effect of social inequality. Understanding how these disparities interact is important because they can be mutually-reinforcing and thus difficult to escape once the cycle has begun. The research supported by this award will investigate these linkages through the lens of food insecurity and the pathways that connect it to mental ill health, as mediated by cultural and social differences. Although the research will be conducted outside of the United States to take advantage of analytically useful comparisons, its findings will be universally applicable.The research will be undertaken by anthropologists Dr. Lesley J. Weaver (University of Alabama) and Dr. Craig A. Hadley (Emory University) in three rapidly developing communities in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Haiti. These research sites were chosen because all three have experienced food shortages in recent memory and in each setting, social inequality is creating noticeable disparities in life chances. At the same time, the three research sites also differ in scientifically useful ways: they have culturally distinct food cultures and each has a different degree of integration with the global economy. In each site, the researchers will collect information on social and cultural meanings associated with the acquisition, preparation, and consumption of foods; they will do mental and physical health assessments; and they will look at the relationships between these data to weigh the importance of biological (especially nutritional) and cultural factors as pathways that connect food insecurity to mental ill health. Data will be gathered through interviews about health and well-being; participant observation; the collection of basic health biometrics; and the administration of culturally adapted mental health scales. Cross-site comparisons will allow the researchers to assess whether or not there is a shared experience of food insecurity and mental health problems that we are likely to see in other global locations, including the United States. Findings from this research will help to better understand the connection between human society, culture, biology, and psychology. Results also will help to improve the effectiveness of development and aid programs designed to alleviate mental health problems and food insecurity and alleviate some of the harmful effects of social inequality.