Description

FSSKIPYR indicates how often, if at all, the adults in the responding household have cut the size of meals or skipped meals in the past year because they were running out of food and could not afford to buy more. This variable is available only for households that previously indicated food distress in the past year.

The two questions used to construct FSSKIPYR are two of the 18 items included in the 12-month household food security scale, 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. Within this section, there are two internal screeners. FSSKIPYR is subject to the first of these screeners.

Note, the child section of the food security question includes separate questions on cutting the size of meals (FSCUTCH) and skipping meals (FSSKIPCH).

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 did not enough to eat (FSFOODS), worried about running out of food (FSWROUTY), ran out of food (FSBUYMR), or did not eat balanced meals (FSBAL) continue on to answer FSSKIPYR.

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.

The use of split panels to test experimental versions of the questions underlying FSSKIPYR reduce the sample sizes in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2008, and 2009.

Universe

Flags

Unharmonized Variables