Caregiver food allergy self-efficacy explains the relationship between perceived food allergy severity and burden.

Abstract

Objective: Caregiver perceived food allergy severity is associated with food allergy burden, while caregiver food allergy self-efficacy has been linked to improved quality of life for caregivers. This study examined the mediating effect of caregiver food allergy self-efficacy on the relationship between perceived food allergy severity and caregiver food allergy burden.

Methods: Caregivers of children diagnosed with IgE-mediated food allergy were recruited from pediatric allergy clinics to complete demographic and medical questionnaires, the Food Allergy Independent Measure-Parent Form, the Food Allergy Self-Efficacy Scale for Parents, and the Food Allergy Quality of Life-Parental Burden. Hayes' PROCESS was utilized to test mediation analysis. The TREND checklist is available in the Supplementary Materials section.

Results: Analyses consisted of 94 caregivers of children (Mage = 11.72 years, 52.7% male, 34.0% Black). Caregiver food allergy self-efficacy mediated the relationship between perceived food allergy severity and caregiver food allergy burden, B = 0.16, SE = 0.07, CI (0.04-0.33).

Conclusions: Caregiver food allergy self-efficacy may play an important role in food allergy psychosocial functioning. Interventions targeting self-efficacy could reduce caregiver food allergy burden. Future research should explore additional psychosocial and medical factors to better tailor food allergy interventions to the family's unique needs.