Scale Overview
The U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module: Short Form (US-HFSSM-SF) was developed by Gary Bickel, Mark Nord, Price, Hamilton, Cook (2000). It is designed to measure Food Security. The scale is intended for use with Adults / Households.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 6 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Affirmative (Often true, Sometimes true, Yes, Almost every month, or Some months), 0 = Non-affirmative (Never true, No, or Only 1 or 2 months).
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 6. Interpretation guidelines:
- Food secure: 0 – 1
- Food insecure without hunger: 2 – 4
- Food insecure with hunger: 5 – 6
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of High.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 3 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.