Parents of children with food allergies face significant worry, severe anxiety, and posttraumatic stress, according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Researchers explored anxiety, worry, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in 105 parents of children with medically diagnosed food allergies. They found that 81.0% of parents reported clinically significant worry, 42.3% met the clinical cutoff for PTSS, and 39.1% reported moderate-toextremely severe anxiety. Poorer psychological outcomes were associated with greater intolerance of uncertainty and lower food allergy selfefficacy. Within regression models, intolerance of uncertainty was the only variable to consistently account for unique variance. “This study highlights the need for greater awareness of mental health in parents of children with food allergy,” the authors write. “Intolerance of uncertainty may be a promising target for psychological interventions within this population.”
