The influence of item order of the Household Food Security Survey Module on the assessment of food insecurity in households with children

OBJECTIVE: Changes in the item order of the US Household Food Security Survey Module (USHFSSM) were performed throughout time. This study aimed to compare the psychometric properties of the general and specific factors of the 2000 and 2012 versions of the USHFSSM to measure the construct of food insecurity in two Portuguese samples of households with children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Portugal. PARTICIPANTS: An adaptation of the 2000 version was applied to 839 adults (from households with children aged 7–17 years) from the National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2015–2016, while the 2012 version was used among 2855 families from the Generation XXI birth cohort. RESULTS: The 2000 version showed to have a stronger ωh than the 2012 version (0·89 v. 0·78 for the general factor), as well as eigenvalues higher than 1 for the general factor (eigenvalues equal to 9·54, 0·97 and 0·80, for the general factor, specific factor 1 and specific factor 2, respectively), while the 2012 version had also the contribution of specific factors to explain food insecurity (eigenvalues equal to 9·40, 2·40 and 1·20, for general factor and specific factors 1 and 2, respectively). Good internal consistency (ωt = 0·99, for both versions) was obtained. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the 2000 and 2012 versions of the USHFSSM showed good psychometric properties; however, the 2000 version has stronger general factor, while the 2012 version also has the contribution of specific factors.