Subjective Distress and Emotional Resources in Parents of Children With Food Allergy

Abstract

This study evaluated emotional functioning in parents of children with food allergy and examined child factors as correlates of caregiver adjustment. Questionnaire data regarding parent subjective distress and emotional resources, allergy characteristics, and child behaviors were gathered from 282 caregivers of food-allergic children. Parents reported experiencing mild-to-moderate distress related to guilt and worry, unresolved anger and sorrow, and long-term uncertainty. Greater distress was associated with caring for a younger child and having a child with emotional or behavioral problems. Parents who perceived having more emotional resources endorsed less distress and had children with fewer emotional or behavioral problems.

Notes

¹Participants who accessed the survey were not required to answer all questions to continue through the survey, and were permitted to exit the survey at any point. This methodology resulted in some missing data, with a trend for more responses to be missing in the latter half of the 100-question survey. Comparison of participants included in this study (n = 282) with those who were not included due to missing data (n = 100) revealed that respondents for this study group were slightly older than non-respondents (M = 38.9 vs. 37.1 years). No other significant group differences in demographic or allergy variables were observed.

^aTotal n does not equal 292 due to missing data on item.

^a0 = male and 1 = female.

^b0 = no and 1 = yes.

^cSpearman rank-order correlations reported for associations with this variable.

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.

^† p < .10.