Strong Interpersonal Relationships Buffer the Impact of Chaos on Quality of Family Meal Interactions in Food-insecure Households

Regularity of family meals is lower in households experiencing food insecurity. Many food‐insecure households also experience chaos, defined as exhibiting “unpredictable, non‐routine, inconsistent, and non‐contingent physical and social surroundings.” Household chaos may negatively impact the quality of family meal interactions. This is a concern because regular family meals foster healthy physical and social development of children. Positive family meal experiences may provide opportunities for children to strengthen emotional bonds, leading to a sense of security, which foster improved self‐regulation of healthier food intake in children. Relationships between household chaos and regularity and quality of family meal interactions are not well understood, particularly in food‐insecure households. We studied family meal experiences of parents and children living in food‐insecure households to better understand relationships between household chaos and the regularity and quality of mealtime interactions. We conducted a qualitative study with 20 ethnically diverse parent‐child (9–15 y) dyads living in food‐insecure households in South Carolina. Parents and children participated separately in in‐depth interviews about their daily activities, with an emphasis on their family mealtime experiences using a semi‐structured interview guide. Interviews were recorded transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach in Nvivo 10. Food‐insecure families described demands that increased household chaos including conflicts with work and after school schedules, coping with poverty and food insecurity (e.g., working extra hours or seeking food assistance), and children visiting multiple homes, particularly when food was limited. For many, household chaos impacted the regularity of family meals but did not alter the quality of mealtime interactions. Stronger interpersonal relationships were described as the primary reason for enjoyable mealtime experience with few disruptions. These families viewed family meals as a “sanctuary” from chaos, leaving them feeling more connected afterwards. Families who described strained interpersonal relationships reported minimal, yet stressful and disrupted interactions during family meals. Some described family members bringing stressors, frustrations, and anger to the meal, resulting in conflict. Feelings of guilt, failure, and frustration over the meal experience were common among these families and resentment or apathy towards family meals were described by some children. All families experienced household chaos and the strength of interpersonal relationships buffered or exacerbated the impact of chaos on quality of family meal interactions. Understanding family meal experiences of children in food‐insecure households highlights the importance of interpersonal relationships and regular positive mealtime interactions that may strengthen emotional connections in families to improve child health outcomes. Support or Funding Information Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the RIDGE Center for Targeted Studies at Purdue University and the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not represent the USDA.