{"id":242551,"date":"2026-03-18T10:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=242551"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:12:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T14:12:33","slug":"researcher-receives-deans-incentive-award-to-study-youth-experiences-with-food-insecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/03\/researcher-receives-deans-incentive-award-to-study-youth-experiences-with-food-insecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Researcher Receives Dean\u2019s Incentive Award to Study Youth Experiences with Food Insecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to national estimates, food insecurity affects an estimated 15 million Americans<\/a>, making it one of the most widespread threats to child and adolescent health and well-being.<\/p>\n

While decades of research have linked food insecurity to challenges in academic performance, emotional health, and development, most studies rely on parents to report children\u2019s experiences.<\/p>\n

UConn School of Social Work Assistant Professor Alexandria B. Forte, believes this approach may miss critical insights.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdolescence is a unique developmental stage marked by growing independence and social awareness,\u201d Forte says. \u201cYoung people may notice or interpret food insecurity differently than their caregivers\u2014particularly when it comes to stress, stigma, or how it affects their relationships and school life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emerging research suggests adolescents understand and navigate food insecurity in ways that may not always be visible to adults. This study centers youth voices to better understand those experiences. \u2014 Alexandria Forte<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As the recipient of a competitive Dean\u2019s Incentive Award, Forte will explore how adolescents experience food insecurity\u2014and how their perspectives may differ from those of their caregivers.<\/p>\n

Her project, \u201cVoices From Within: A Dyadic Qualitative Study Unraveling Perspectives of Youth Experiences in Food Insecure Homes,” will examine how adolescents ages 13\u201317 experience food insecurity within their households and how those experiences align\u2014or diverge\u2014from their caregivers\u2019 perceptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood insecurity is often measured through caregiver reports,\u201d Forte explains. \u201cBut emerging research suggests adolescents understand and navigate food insecurity in ways that may not always be visible to adults. This study centers youth voices to better understand those experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listening through Qualitative Dyadic Interviews<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Alex
Alexandria B. Forte<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Forte will collect her data through qualitative dyadic interviews\u2014meaning she will interview both adolescents and their caregivers from the same household, but separately. This will allow the researchers to compare how each person describes the same experiences while ensuring privacy when discussing a sensitive topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy capturing both perspectives, we can better understand how families experience food insecurity as a shared but not identical reality,\u201d Forte says.<\/p>\n

To begin the project, Forte will recruit 20 caregiver\u2013adolescent pairs from communities\u2014nationwide\u2014most affected by food insecurity.<\/p>\n

She’ll conduct their interviews via secure videoconferencing and will explore several key themes, including families\u2019 general experiences with food insecurity, the emotional and social impacts on adolescents, stigma surrounding food scarcity, and the community supports families rely on.<\/p>\n

The research will be guided by a “phenomenological approach,” which focuses on understanding individuals\u2019 lived experiences and the meaning they assign to those experiences. Interviews will be recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to identify patterns within and across family pairs.<\/p>\n

This research will be supported by doctoral student, Kacey Thigpen.<\/p>\n

Laying the Groundwork for Future Research<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dean\u2019s Incentive Award is designed to support early-stage, high-potential research or scholarly projects and has strong potential for broader impact and future funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Forte\u2019s project exemplifies the kind of innovative, impact-driven scholarship we aim to support through the Dean\u2019s Incentive Award,” explains School of Social Work Dean and Professor Laura Curran. “By centering adolescents\u2019 voices in the study of food insecurity, her work has the potential to deepen our understanding of this critical issue and inform more responsive policies and practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project will take place over the coming year and is designed as a pilot study that will generate preliminary data for future grant applications. Forte plans to use the findings to pursue additional funding from the National Institutes of Health to develop and validate a new measure of adolescent food insecurity and well-being.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, she hopes the study will help ensure that policies, programs, and social work interventions reflect the lived realities of young people experiencing food insecurity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdolescents are experts in their own experiences,\u201d Forte says. \u201cThis project is about listening to those voices and using what we learn to improve how we identify and respond to food insecurity among youth.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With support of a Dean\u2019s Incentive Award, UConn School of Social Work Assistant Professor Alexandria Forte aims to ensure that policies, programs, and social work interventions reflect the lived realities of young people experiencing food insecurity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":242584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076,1870],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2514],"class_list":["post-242551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","category-ssw"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-09 00:46:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242551"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243932,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242551\/revisions\/243932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/242584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242551"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=242551"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=242551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}