Social Connectedness as a Determinant of Health in African-American Low-Income Families with Young Children: A Cross-Sectional Cohort Study.
Lauren Clore, Rajeev Mohan Agrawal, Paul Kolm and 1 others
PMID 38452045WHAT IT FOUND
In 27 low-income families with young children, higher social connectedness scores were linked to less parental stress and less food insecurity.
However, the link to food insecurity disappeared after accounting for parental stress, suggesting stress may be the key driver.
Key findings
01Social connectedness was negatively correlated with total food insecurity (r = −0.43, p = 0.03) and the inability to afford balanced meals (r = −0.53, p = 0.004).
02Social connectedness was negatively correlated with parental stress (r = −0.65, p < 0.001) and mental health interfering with daily activities (r = −0.54, p = 0.004).
03When adjusted for parental stress, the association between social connectedness and food insecurity weakened and was no longer significant (r = −0.13, p = 0.57), whereas the association with stress remained.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (27 families), which limits the generalizability of the findings. The study design is cross-sectional, so it cannot determine causality or direction of effect. The population was specific to low-income, predominantly African-American families in Washington, D.C., which may not apply to other communities. The association between social connectedness and food insecurity was not independent of parental stress, suggesting the relationship may be mediated by stress rather than being a direct link.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing social connectedness directly reduces food insecurity. The study found that the link between connectedness and food insecurity disappeared when parental stress was accounted for, suggesting stress may be the primary factor connecting these outcomes.