Researcher(s)
- Evyn Appel, Health Behavior Science, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Allison Karpyn, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Delaware
Abstract
The objective of this literature review was to better understand how individuals who face food insecurity, and may participate in nutrition assistance programs, experience stigma. The presence of food-related stigma widens the health equity divide by deterring individuals from seeking resources. The Stigma and Food Inequity Framework was established in 2020 and details how individual-level stigma is enacted upon targets – those with stigmatized statuses as a result of “othering” by perceivers, or perpetrators. Since the Framework’s establishment, there is a need to distinguish and characterize the stigma individuals perceive and endure as explored in the literature thus far. The scoping review encompasses peer-reviewed literature from 2004 to June 1, 2024 that present findings on how individuals who face food insecurity and/or participate in nutrition assistance programs experience stigma. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Sociological Abstracts with studies screened in Covidence based on eligibility and relevance of results. Studies must have been conducted in the United States, examined an adult population that experiences food insecurity and/or has participated in a nutrition assistance program, and reported stigma or a closely related form of discrimination as a finding. 94 studies were included in the review. College students were the most frequently studied population (n=20) with pediatric caregivers/parents as the next most common population (n=14). Types of stigma assessed skewed heavily towards target experiences (n=150) compared to those of the perceiver (n=36). The most common kind of target stigma was anticipated stigma. Preliminary results of this review demonstrate that the literature has disproportionately focused on college students and the target experience of stigma. There are gaps in the literature regarding the experiences of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants and experiences of food stigma at the perceiver level.