Validity of the Latin American and Caribbean Household Food Security Scale (ELCSA) in Guanajuato, Mexico

Abstract

We tested the validity of ELCSA in a representative public opinion survey of 863 households with children under 18 y old in the state of Guanajuato. ELCSA was applied to the respondents in Spanish, contained 16 items and used a reference period of 3 months. Cronbach's alpha was 0.93. Based on affirmative response prevalence, the severity of items was fully consistent with theoretical expectations. Worrying about the food supply was the most prevalent item followed by items referring to dietary quality in adults, hunger in adults, dietary quality in children and finally hunger in children. 31% of households were food secure (item additive score=0), 37% were mildly FI, 20% were moderately FI and 11% were extremely FI. Criterion validity was strong. There was an inverse dose‐response relationship between household income and level of severity of FI (p<0.001) with 32.8% of household reporting severe FI if they had a monthly income of less than US$80 compared to 0% among those earning an income ranging from US$1,600 to US$3,000. Likewise, the prevalence of severe FI was 18.9% in households where the respondent had no formal education compared to 3.3% in households where the respondent had college level education. Results suggest that ELCSA is a valid tool for assessing household FI in Mexico. Implemented by Data OPM with funding from the Government of the State of Guanajuato.