The Effect of Financial Scarcity on Reinforcer Pathology: A Dyadic Developmental Examination
Amanda K. Crandall,
Leonard H. Epstein,
Jennifer Fillo,
Kevin Carfley,
Eleanor Fumerelle,
Jennifer L. Temple
Affiliations
Amanda K. Crandall
Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
Leonard H. Epstein
Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine, University at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
Jennifer Fillo
Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, The University of South Carolina, 915 Greene St Discovery I, Suite 551, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Kevin Carfley
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
Eleanor Fumerelle
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
Jennifer L. Temple
Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
This study investigated the effects of experimentally manipulated scarcity on the reinforcing value of food (RRVfood) and delay discounting (DD), which, together, create reinforcer pathology (RP) among parents and offspring. A stratified sample of 106 families (53 parent/child aged 7–10 dyads & 53 parent/adolescent aged 15–17 dyads) from high- and low-income households visited our laboratory for three appointments. Each appointment included an experimental manipulation of financial gains and losses and DD and RRV tasks. The results showed that, regardless of food insecurity or condition, children had greater RP (β = 1.63, p p = 0.002) than food-secure families. Food-insecure parents with children responded to financial losses with an increase in their RRVfood (β = −0.03, p = 0.011), while food-secure parents and food-insecure parents of adolescents did not significantly change their responding based on conditions. This study replicates findings that financial losses increase the RRVfood among adults with food insecurity and extends this literature by suggesting that this is strongest for parents of children.
