Does the Brazilian Household Food Insecurity Measurement Scale Allow for Valid Comparisons Across Sex,Race,and Education? A Measurement Invariance Analysis Using the National Household Sample Survey

Abstract

Background

The Brazilian Household Food Insecurity Measurement Scale (Escala Brasileira de Insegurança Alimentar, EBIA) is widely used to assess food insecurity (FI) in Brazil and has demonstrated strong internal and external validity. However, evidence regarding its measurement invariance across different population groups remains limited.

Objective

This study aimed to evaluate the invariance of the 8-item EBIA by sex, race, and education of household members, using data from the 2013 Brazilian National Household Sample Survey (n = 116 543).

Methods

The sample was split into 3 independent subsamples, and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and the alignment method were employed to test for measurement invariance across groups. Households were classified according to the composition of residents based on each variable.

Results

Findings indicated that the EBIA exhibits configural and scalar invariance across all 3 groupings. Although the alignment method identified a few localized violations, over 80% of parameters were invariant, suggesting approximate invariance.

Conclusions

We conclude that EBIA demonstrates broad measurement invariance across sex, race, and education, supporting valid comparisons of FI scores among these subpopulations. These findings reinforce the psychometric robustness of EBIA as a tool for monitoring FI in diverse sociodemographic contexts.

Plain language title

Can We Trust the Brazilian Household Food Insecurity Measurement Scale to Compare Groups by Sex, Race, and Education? An Analysis Using National Data

Plain language summary

The Brazilian Household Food Insecurity Measurement Scale (EBIA) is widely used to assess food insecurity among families. Though this is a very widely used measure, whether the tool enables valid comparisons between different groups of people, as defined by gender, race, and education, is yet to be known. This study analyzed data from over 116 000 Brazilian families to determine whether the EBIA measures food insecurity equally well across these groups. The results showed that the scale works consistently well for men and women, different races, and people with different levels of education. Thus, the study confirms that the EBIA is a valid and reliable tool for monitoring food insecurity among different population groups in Brazil.