Better meals build better family: Food and eating practice\u27s and their consequences to familial relationship among Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Marawi City, Philippines

Abstract

The study aimed to describe food and eating practices before and during displacement among Maranao families who were displaced due to the conflict in Marawi City in 2017. It also investigates how such food and eating practices impact their quality of family relationships. Moreover, this study aims to determine if eating and food practices and their impact on quality of relationship differ before and during displacement. More specifically, the quantitative component of the study answered the following questions: 1. Is there a significant differences in the perceived quality of \u27food and eating practices\u27 prior to conflict and during the first 3-6 months of displacement in terms of: a. meal preparation, b. during mealtime dynamics, c. after mealtime dynamics, and d. frequency of mealtime together? 2. Is there a significant difference in the perceived quality of familial relationship prior to conflict and during the first 3-6 months of displacement in terms of: a) familial communication, b) familial intimacy, and c) familial conflict? 3. Can family \u27food and eating practices\u27 influence the quality of familial relationship in the context of displacement?For queantitative research questions, the following were addressed to further elaborate the quantitative results: 1. How do IDP couples perceive their general life situation before the war and during displacement? 2. How do IDP couples describe their food and eating practices before the war and during displacement? 3.How do IDP couples perceive their quality of family relationship before the war and during displacement? 4. How do the dsiplacement experiences shape food and eating practices? 5. What are the consequences of food and eating practices to the quality of family relationship? The study used mixed method approach to examine the phenomenon under consideration. Within the nexus of displacement and food insecurity, the quantitative aspect of the study is set to accomplish two (2) things, namely: (a) compare the difference in the \u27food and eating practices\u27 and familial relationship, before displacement, and during the displacement predict the quality of familial relationship among IDPs. While the qualitative aspect of the research aimed to look at the narratives of the IDPs in the aspects of mealtime-related activites. This is done through acquiring the narratives of the participants about their (1) living conditions before displacement and during the displacement, (2) \u27food and eating practices\u27 before displacement and during displacement, and (3) the quality of familial relationship before displacement and during the displacement