Test Validity of a Single-Item Food Insecurity Screening Assessment Among College Students.

This article focuses on evaluating the validity of a single-item food insecurity screening question among undergraduate college students at a large urban U.S. research university. The single-item question, "In the last 30 days, did you ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn't enough money for food?" was tested against the USDA Household Food Security Short Form (USDA FSSM-SF), a validated six-item scale. Results showed high sensitivity (97.6%) and positive predictive value (97.74%), indicating the single-item screener effectively identifies students experiencing food insecurity, though specificity was moderate (69.6%). The study suggests this brief screening tool could facilitate early detection and referral to support services, though findings are limited to students who screened positive and may not generalize beyond the study population.