Examining the role of social capital in the association between parental employment in childhood and food insecurity in adulthood: Evidence from Ghana

• Exposure to childhood parental employment is associated with a decline in food insecurity in adulthood. • The association was not heterogenous across age and rural-urban location of residence. • Social capital was an important channel through which childhood parental employment associate with a decline in food insecurity in adulthood. To examine the impact of exposure to childhood parental employment on food insecurity in adulthood in Ghana, using the three waves of the WHO SAGE longitudinal study. Longitudinal study Study participants were selected from the three waves of the World Health Organisation Study on global AGEing and adult health (WHO-SAGE) conducted in Ghana between 2007 and 2019. Longitudinal analytical models with logistic regression were used to examine the association between childhood parental employment and adulthood food insecurity, and mediation analysis to examine the mediating role of social capital on the association. Childhood parental employment was assessed from father and mother employment status during childhood. Food insecurity was measured from 12-month experience of hunger and food insufficiency over the last 12 months. Exposure to childhood parental employment significantly associated with a reduction in hunger and food insufficiency in adulthood. The baseline estimates show that exposure to a mother's employment is associated with a decline in hunger and food insufficiency in adulthood by 14.7 and 16.2 percentage points, respectively. Also, exposure to a father's employment is associated with a reduced hunger and food insufficiency in adulthood by 16.4 and 17.6 percentage points, respectively. We also find evidence that the relationship between exposure to parental employment during childhood and food insecurity in adulthood is mediated by social capital. The study draws attention to early interventions that support employment security among individuals, particularly parents, in accumulating resources and the formation of substantial social capital.