A comparative study of food security, self-efficacy, food copingstrategies, and children nutritional status in urban and ruralpoor households in Cianjur Regency, Indonesia

Introduction: Poverty, remains a major challenge inIndonesia, limiting households’ access to adequate food and contributing to persistent food insecurity. This study aims to analyze the differences in food security, self-efficacy, food coping strategies, and the nutritional status of under-five children among poor households in urban and rural areas of Cianjur Regency.Methods: This research is a comparative study with across-sectional design conducted in February 2025. The study sites were Kelurahan Sayang (urban) and Ciwalen Village (rural). The total number of subjects included in this study was 64 in the urban area and 62 in the rural area. Main respondents were mothers with children under five years old.Independent t-test was used if the data were normally distributed, while the Mann-Whitney test was applied for nonnormally distributed data.Results: Most mothers in both urban (43.8%) and rural(58.1%) had attained only a primary education (elementary school/equivalent). Most households in this study experienced food insecurity (urban 92.1% and rural 96.7%) (p>0.05), ranging from mild to severe levels. Almost all respondents in both areas exhibited low levels of self-efficacy (scores 1–3) (urban: 92.2% rural: 93.5%) (p<0.05). Most respondents fell into the low food coping strategy category (urban 62.5% and rural 67.7%) (p>0.05). Most food coping strategies used byhouseholds was adjusting meal distribution, with mothers prioritizing food for children over themselves and other adults.The nutritional status of children under five showed a high prevalence of underweight and stunting. Underweight prevalence among under-five children was 32.8% in urban areas and 22.5% in rural areas, while stunting affected 37.4% of urban children and 32.2% of rural children.Conclusion: Most poor households in urban and rural areas remained food insecure, with low maternal self-efficacy and mild food coping strategies despite food insecurity. Underweigt and stunting among under-five children are still prevalent.