ERS Spanish

U.S. HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURI TY SURVEY M ODULE²SPANI SH:
THREE-STAGE DESI GN, WI TH SCREENERS
Economic Research Service, USDA
July 23, 2012
Revision Notes: Revised and adapted from earlier Spanish translations, including Harrison et al.
(³Development of a Spanish-Language Version of the U.S. Household Food Security Survey
Module´E\Gail G. Harrison, Ame Stormer, Dena R. Herman, and Donna M. Winham, Journal
of Nutrition 133(4): 1192-1197, April 2003), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(National Center for Health Statistics), and National Health Interview Survey (National Center
for Health Statistics). Adaptation by Mark Nord, Economic Research Service, USDA, and
Adriana Zorrilla, Chris Kocsis, and Maria Riegger, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA. Thanks
to Winna T. Rivera Soto, University of Puerto Rico, and Census Bureau interviewers for reviews
and helpful suggestions.
Transition into M odule (administered to all households):
Las siguientes preguntas tratan sobre los alimentos consumidos en su casa durante los últimos 12
meses, desde (mes coriente) del año pasado, y su capacidad para comprar la comida que se
necesitaba.
Optional USDA Food Sufficiency Question/Screener: Question HH1 (This question is
optional. I t is not used to calculate any of the food security scales. I t may be used in
conjunction with income as a preliminary screener to reduce respondent burden for high
income households).
HH1. [IF ONE PERSON IN HOUSEHOLD, USE FIRST FILL IN PARENTHETICALS,
OTHERWISE, USE SECOND FILL.]
¿Cuál de las siguentes declaraciones describe mejor (su situación alimentaria / la
situación alimentaria en su casa) en los últimos 12 meses?
[1] Siempre (como / comemos) lo suficiente y los tipos de alimentos que (deseo /
deseamos)
[2] (Como / comemos) lo suficiente pero no siempre lo que (deseo / deseamos)
[3] A veces no (como / comemos) lo suficiente o
[4] Frecuentemente no (como / comemos) lo suficiente
[ ] DK or Refused

Household Stage 1: Questions HH2-HH4 (asked of all households; begin scale items).
[SELECT APPROPRIATE FILL IN PARENTHETICALS DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER
OF PERSONS AND NUMBER OF ADULTS IN THE HOUSEHOLD.]
HH2. Ahora le voy a leer algunas declaraciones que las personas han hecho sobre su situación
alimentaria. Para cada uno, favor de indicarme si ha ocurrido frecuentemente, a veces, o
nunca (a Ud. / en su casa) en los últimos 12 meses, dese (mes coriente) del año pasado.
The La primera situación es ³(Me preocupó / Nos preocupamos) que la comida se podía
acabar antes de tener dinero parDFRPSUDUPiV´ (Para Ud. / En su casa), ¿ésto ocurrió
frecuentemente, a veces, o nunca en los últimos 12 meses?
[]
[]
[]
[]

Frecuentemente
A veces
Nunca
DK or Refused

HH3. La comida que (compré / compramos) no rindió lo suficiente, y (no tenía / no teníamos)
dinero para comprar más." (Para Ud. / En su casa), ¿ésto ocurrió frecuentemente, a veces,
o nunca en los últimos 12 meses?
[]
[]
[]
[]

Frecuentemente
A veces
Nunca
DK or Refused

HH4. ³1RWHQtD1RWHQtDPRVrecursos suficientes para comer una comida variada y
QXWULWLYD´3DUD8G(QVXcasa), ¿ésto ocurrió frecuentemente, a veces, o nunca en los
últimos 12 meses?
[]
[]
[]
[]

Frecuentemente
A veces
Nunca
DK or Refused

Screener for Stage 2 Adult-Referenced Questions: If affirmative response (i.e.,
³IUHFXHQWHPHQWH´RU³DYHFHV´) to one or more of Questions HH2-HH4, OR, response [3] or [4]
to question HH1 (if administered), then continue to Adult Stage 2; otherwise, if children under
age 18 are present in the household, skip to Child Stage 1, otherwise skip to End of Food
Security Module.
NOTE: In a sample similar to that of the general U.S. population, about 20 percent of
households (45 percent of households with incomes less than 185 percent of poverty line) will
pass this screen and continue to Adult Stage 2.

Adult Stage 2: Questions AD1-AD4 (asked of households passing the screener for Stage 2
adult-referenced questions).
AD1. En los últimos 12 meses, ¿(Ud. / Ud. u otro adulto de su casa) redujo alguna vez la
cantidad de sus comidas o dejó de desayunar, almorzar o cenar porque le faltaba dinero
para alimentos?
[ ] Sí
[ ] No (Skip AD1a)
[ ] DK (Skip AD1a)
AD1a. [IF SÍ ABOVE, ASK] ¿Con qué frecuencia sucedió esto? Casi todos los meses, algunos
meses pero no todos, o solamente en 1 ó 2 meses?
[]
[]
[]
[]

Casi todos los meses
Algunos meses pero no todos
Solamente en 1 ó 2 meses
DK

AD2. En los últimos 12 meses, ¿comió Ud. alguna vez menos de lo que pensaba que debía
comer porque le faltaba dinero para alimentos?
[ ] Sí
[ ] No
[ ] DK
AD3. En los últimos 12 meses, ¿Tuvo Ud. hambre alguna vez pero no comió porque le faltaba
dinero para alimentos?
[ ] Sí
[ ] No
[ ] DK
AD4. En los últimos 12 meses, ¿Perdió Ud. peso porque no comió los alimentos suficientes por
falta de dinero para comida?
[ ] Sí
[ ] No
[ ] DK

Screener for Stage 3 Adult-Referenced Questions: If affirmative response to one or more of
questions AD1 through AD4, then continue to Adult Stage 3; otherwise, if children under age 18
are present in the household, skip to Child Stage 1, otherwise skip to End of Food Security
Module.
NOTE: In a sample similar to that of the general U.S. population, about 8 percent of households
(20 percent of households with incomes less than 185 percent of poverty line) will pass this
screen and continue to Adult Stage 3.
Adult Stage 3: Questions AD5-AD5a (asked of households passing screener for Stage 3
adult-referenced questions).
AD5. En los últimos 12 meses, ¿alguna vez (no comió Ud./ no comieron Ud. u otros adultos en
su casa) en todo el día porque (le/ les) faltaba dinero para alimentos?
[ ] Sí
[ ] No (Skip AD5a)
[ ] DK (Skip AD5a)
AD5a. [IF SÍ ABOVE, ASK] ¿Con qué frecuencia sucedió esto? Casi todos los meses, algunos
meses pero no todos, o solamente en 1 ó 2 meses?
[]
[]
[]
[]

Casi todos los meses
Algunos meses pero no todos
Solamente en 1 ó 2 meses
DK

Child Stage 1: Questions CH1-CH3 (Transitions and questions CH1 and CH2 are
administered to all households with children under age 18) Households with no child under
age 18, skip to End of Food Security Module.
SELECT APPROPRIATE FILLS DEPENDING ON NUMBER OF ADULTS AND NUMBER
OF CHILDREN IN THE HOUSEHOLD.
Transition into Child-Referenced Questions:
Ahora le voy a leer algunas declaraciones que las personas han hecho sobre la situación
alimentaria de sus niños. Para cada uno, favor de indicarme si ocurrió frecuentemente, algunas
veces, o nunca en los últimos 12 meses a niños o jóvenes menores de 18 años que viven en su
casa.
CH1. ³7XYH7XYLPRVTXHDOLPHntar a los niños o jóvenes de la casa con alimentos de poca
YDULHGDG\EDMRFRVWRSRUTXHVHQRVDFDEDEDGLQHURSDUDDOLPHQWRV´En su casa, ¿ésto
ocurrió frecuentemente, a veces, o nunca en los últimos 12 meses?
[]
[]
[]
[]

Frecuentemente
A veces
Nunca
DK or Refused

CH2. ³1RSXGH1RSXGLPRVDOLPHQWDUDORVQLxRVRMyYHQHVde la casa con comida variada y
nutritiva porque nos IDOWDEDGLQHURSDUDDOLPHQWRV´(QVXcasa, ¿ésto ocurrió
frecuentemente, a veces, o nunca en los últimos 12 meses?
[]
[]
[]
[]

Frecuentemente
A veces
Nunca
DK or Refused

CH3. ³/RVQLxRVRUMyYHQHVde la casa no comían lo suficiente porque nos faltaba dinero para
FRPSUDUDOLPHQWRV´(QVXcasa, ¿ésto ocurrió frecuentemente, a veces, o nunca en los
últimos 12 meses?
[]
[]
[]
[]

Frecuentemente
A veces
Nunca
DK or Refused

Screener for Stage 2 Child Referenced Questions: If affirmative response (i.e.,
³IUHFXHQWHPHQW´ or ³DYHFHV´) to one or more of questions CH1-CH3, then continue to Child
Stage 2; otherwise skip to End of Food Security Module.
NOTE: In a sample similar to that of the general U.S. population, about 16 percent of
households with children (35 percent of households with children with incomes less than 185
percent of poverty line) will pass this screen and continue to Child Stage 2.
Child Stage 2: Questions CH4-CH7 (asked of households passing the screener for stage 2
child-referenced questions).
NOTE: In Current Population Survey Food Security Supplements, question CH6 precedes
question CH5.
CH4. En los últimos 12 meses, ¿se redujo alguna vez la cantidad de la comida de un niño o
joven de su casa porque a Uds. les faltaba dinero para alimentos?
[ ] Sí
[ ] No
[ ] DK
CH5. En los últimos 12 meses, ¿alguna vez un niño o joven de su casa dejó de desayunar,
almorzar o cenar porque a Uds. les faltaba dinero para alimentos?
[ ] Sí
[ ] No (Skip CH5a)
[ ] DK (Skip CH5a)
CH5a. [IF SÍ ABOVE, ASK] ¿Con qué frecuencia sucedió esto? Casi todos los meses, algunos
meses pero no todos, o solamente en 1 ó 2 meses?
[]
[]
[]
[]

Casi todos los meses
Algunos meses pero no todos
Solamente en 1 ó 2 meses
DK

CH6. En los últimos 12 meses, ¿alguna vez, un niño o joven de su casa tuvo hambre pero a
Uds. les faltaba dinero para comprar más alimentos?
[ ] Sí
[ ] No
[ ] DK

CH7. En los últimos 12 meses, ¿alguna vez un niño o joven de su casa no comió en todo el día
porque a Uds. les faltaba dinero para alimentos?
[ ] Sí
[ ] No
[ ] DK

END OF FOOD SECURI TY M ODULE

USER NOTES
(1) Coding Responses and Assessing Household Food Security Status:
Following is a brief overview of how to code responses and assess household food security status
based on various standard scales. For detailed information on these procedures, refer to the
Guide to Measuring Household Food Security, Revised 2000, and 0HDVXULQJ&KLOGUHQ¶V)RRG
Security in U.S. Households, 1995-1999. Both publications are available from the ERS Food
Security in the United States web pages.
5HVSRQVHVRI³sí´³frecuentemente´³a veces´³casi todos los meses´DQG³algunos meses pero
no todos´DUHFRGHGDVDIILUmative. The sum of affirmative responses to a specified set of items is
UHIHUUHGWRDVWKHKRXVHKROG¶VUDZVFRUHRQWKHVFDOHFRPSULVLQJWKRVHLWHPV
x

Questions HH2 through CH7 comprise the U.S. Household Food Security Scale (questions
HH2 through AD5a for households with no child present). Specification of food security
status depends on raw score and whether there are children in the household (i.e., whether
responses to child-referenced questions are included in the raw score).
o For households with one or more children:
ƒ Raw score zero²High food security
ƒ Raw score 1-2²Marginal food security
ƒ Raw score 3-7²Low food security
ƒ Raw score 8-18²Very low food security
o For households with no child present:
ƒ Raw score zero²High food security
ƒ Raw score 1-2²Marginal food security
ƒ Raw score 3-5²Low food security
ƒ Raw score 6-10²Very low food security
Households with high or marginal food security are classified as food secure. Those with
low or very low food security are classified as food insecure.

x

Questions HH2 through AD5a comprise the U.S. Adult Food Security Scale.
ƒ Raw score zero²High food security among adults
ƒ Raw score 1-2²Marginal food security among adults
ƒ Raw score 3-5²Low food security among adults
ƒ Raw score 6-10²Very low food security among adults

x

Questions HH3 through AD3 comprise the six-item Short Module from which the Six-Item
Food Security Scale can be calculated.
ƒ Raw score 0-1²High or marginal food security (raw score 1 may be
considered marginal food security, but a large proportion of households that
would be measured as having marginal food security using the household or
adult scale will have raw score zero on the six-item scale)
ƒ Raw score 2-4²Low food security
ƒ Raw score 5-6²Very low food security

ƒ

4XHVWLRQV&+WKURXJK&+FRPSULVHWKH86&KLOGUHQ¶s Food Security Scale.
ƒ Raw score 0-1²High or marginal food security among children (raw score 1
may be considered marginal food security, but it is not certain that all
households with raw score zero have high food security among children
because the scale does not include an assessment of the anxiety component of
food insecurity)
ƒ Raw score 2-4²Low food security among children
ƒ Raw score 5-8²Very low food security among children

(2) Response Options: For interviewer-DGPLQLVWHUHGVXUYH\V'.³GRQ¶WNQRZ´Dnd
³5HIXVHG´DUHEOLQGUHVSRQVHV²that is, they are not presented as response options, but marked if
volunteered. For self-DGPLQLVWHUHGVXUYH\V³GRQ¶WNQRZ´LVSUHVHQWHGDVDUHVSRQVHRSWLRQ
(3) Screening: The two levels of screening for adult-referenced questions and one level for
child-referenced questions are provided for surveys in which it is considered important to reduce
respondent burden. In pilot surveys intended to validate the module in a new cultural, linguistic,
or survey context, screening should be avoided if possible and all questions should be
administered to all respondents.
To further reduce burden for higher income respondents, a preliminary screener may be
constructed using question HH1 along with a household income measure. Households with
income above twice the poverty threshold, AND who respond <1> to question HH1 may be
skipped to the end of the module and classified as food secure. Use of this preliminary screener
reduces total burden in a survey with many higher-income households, and the cost, in terms of
accuracy in identifying food-insecure households, is not great. However, research has shown that
a small proportion of the higher income households screened out by this procedure will register
food insecurity if administered the full module. If question HH1 is not needed for research
purposes, a preferred strategy is to omit HH1 and administer Adult Stage 1 of the module to all
households and Child Stage 1 of the module to all households with children.

(4) 30-Day Reference Period: The questionnaire items may be modified to a 30-day reference
SHULRGE\FKDQJLQJWKH³los últimos 12 meses´UHIHUHQFHVWR³los últimos 30 días´,QWKLVFDVH
items AD1a, AD5a, and CH5a must be changed to read as follows:
AD1a/AD5a/CH5a [IF YES ABOVE, ASK] Durante los últimos 30 días, ¿cuántos días piensa
Usted que le ocurrió esto?
______ días
[ ] DK
Responses of 3 days or more are coded as affirmative responses.