Food allergy and attitudes to close interpersonal relationships: An exploratory study on attachment

Background Food allergy is a common immunologic disease that includes potentially fatal reactions. It impacts considerably on patients’ social life including close interpersonal relationships. Attachment theory provides a theoretic framework to evaluate the quality of close interpersonal relationshi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatric allergy and immunology 2017-08, Vol.28 (5), p.458-463
Main Authors: Polloni, Laura, Schiff, Sami, Ferruzza, Emilia, Lazzarotto, Francesca, Bonaguro, Roberta, Toniolo, Alice, Celegato, Nicolò, Muraro, Antonella
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Anaphylaxis
Anxiety
Anxiety - diagnosis
Anxiety - etiology
attachment
Attachment theory
Attitude
Avoidance
Avoidance Learning
Case-Control Studies
Chronic Disease
close relationships
Cross-Sectional Studies
Discomfort
Epinephrine
Female
Food allergies
food allergy
Food Hypersensitivity - psychology
Humans
Immunoglobulin E
Immunological diseases
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Object Attachment
Peanuts
Personal relationships
Psychological Tests
Psychological Theory
psychosocial
Quality of Life
social burden
Social Support
Studies
Well being
Young Adult
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Summary:Background Food allergy is a common immunologic disease that includes potentially fatal reactions. It impacts considerably on patients’ social life including close interpersonal relationships. Attachment theory provides a theoretic framework to evaluate the quality of close interpersonal relationships in chronic disorders. Attachment insecurity, mainly characterized by attachment avoidance, has been found in a variety of health conditions, but still needs to be investigated in food allergy. The study aimed to investigate attachment, as attitude to close interpersonal relationships, among food‐allergic young patients, compared to healthy controls. Methods This is a cross‐sectional study involving patients suffering from IgE‐mediated food allergy sequentially recruited and matched to healthy controls for age and gender. The Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) was used to assess five factors and two attachment dimensions (Anxiety‐Avoidance). Associations with anaphylaxis and adrenaline prescription were explored among patients. Results 174 participants were assessed (female=45%; mean age=17.51; SD=4.26). Food‐allergic patients reported significantly higher levels of Discomfort with Closeness (P
ISSN:0905-6157
1399-3038
DOI:10.1111/pai.12732