Description

FSCUTCH indicates how often, if at all, the household had to cut the size of a child's meals because there wasn't enough money for food in the past 12 months. From 1998 onwards, this variable is available only for households that previously indicated food distress among children in the past year.

The questions used to construct this variable are two of the 8 items included in the 12-month child food security scale, FSSTATUSC and are also used to determine household food security status FSSTATUS. Only households with incomes below 185% of poverty and higher income households that indicate food access problems in response to preliminary screening questions are included in the Food Sufficiency and Food Security section of the supplement. FSCUTCH is subject to a second internal screener.

Comparability

This variable is generally comparable over available years since 1995, and the universe is generally consistent since 1998. From 1998 onwards, only households that in the past year relied on low-cost food to feed their children (FSLWCFDC), could not afford to feed their children a balanced meal (FSBALCH), or in which the children did not eat enough (FSENGHCH) continue on to answer FSCUTCH.

Prior to 1998, both the internal screeners and the screening procedures used to determine which households were screened into the food security assessment varied. Researchers need account for this when including data prior to 1998.

Universe

Flags

Unharmonized Variables