No food for thought: moderating effects of delay discounting and future time perspective on the relation between income and food insecurity

Abstract

Background: Low income is related to food insecurity, and research has suggested that a scarcity of resources associated with low income can shift attention to the present, thereby discounting the future.

Objective: We tested whether attending to the present and discounting the future may moderate the influence of income on food insecurity.

Design: Delay discounting and measures of future time perspective (Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, Consideration of Future Consequences Scale, time period of financial planning, and subjective probability of living to age 75 y) were studied as moderators of the relation between income and food insecurity in a diverse sample of 975 adults, 31.8% of whom experienced some degree of food insecurity.

Results: Income, financial planning, subjective probability of living to age 75 y, and delay discounting predicted food insecurity as well as individuals who were high in food insecurity. Three-way interactions showed that delay discounting interacted with financial planning and income to predict food insecurity (P = 0.003). At lower levels of income, food insecurity was lowest for subjects who had good financial planning skills and did not discount the future, whereas having good financial skills and discounting the future had minimal influence on food insecurity. The same 3-way interaction was observed when high food insecurity was predicted (P = 0.008).

Conclusion: Because of the role of scarce resources on narrowing attention and reducing prospective thinking, research should address whether modifying future orientation may reduce food insecurity even in the face of diminishing financial resources.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02099812.

© 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

Figures

FIGURE 1.

Predicting food insecurity (top graphs) and the proportion of very high food insecurity [≥5 on a 6-item food-security questionnaire (bottom graphs)] by interactions of income × financial planning × delay discounting (impulsivity). The 3-way interaction was significant for zero-inflated negative binomial regression predicting food insecurity counts (P = 0.003) and logistic regression predicting high food insecurity (P = 0.008). The interaction of financial planning by delay discounting on food-insecurity counts was observed for lower-income participants (P = 0.016) because subjects with high financial planning who did not discount the future (less impulsivity) had less food insecurity and a lower probability of having high food insecurity.