Household Food Insecurity in Lebanon and Its Impact On Maternal Mental Health, Coping Mechanisms, and Children’s Malnutrition

Abstract

Household food insecurity (HFI) is a serious public health concern in Lebanon affecting the Lebanese and non-Lebanese residents. This study aims to investigate the correlation between household food insecurity and maternal depression, an indicator of mental health, and children malnutrition, a nutritional proxy of the households. The study looks at the different coping mechanisms adopted by the mothers to mitigate the effects of household food insecurity. A sample of 219 participants and a sub-sample of 24 mothers were collected from a primary health care center (PHCC) in Beirut and from susceptible communities in Beirut, Mount Lebanon and South. A survey screened for HFI, depression and child malnutrition and semi-structured interviews probed about coping strategies. Spearman correlation coefficients were utilized to examine the correlations between HFI and depression and child malnutrition. Thematic analysis was conducted to categorize the responses of the interviewees. A strong positive correlation was found between HFI and maternal depression. HFI was not found to be linked to the nutritional status of the children under 5. Eight main themes were identified as coping mechanisms adopted by the mothers, including: maternal self-sacrificial behavior, compromised quantity and quality of the food, economic restraint, distractions from eating, negative maternal emotions, infant and young child feeding practices, social isolation of children and paternal buffering mechanisms. In conclusion, further investigation is warranted to determine the effectiveness of the coping mechanisms in preventing childhood malnutrition.