A new study has attempted to determine the size and scope of bullying that kids with food allergies experience by offering them a multi-question assessment. The findings of the study were published in the ‘Journal of Pediatric Psychology’.
Living with a food allergy can greatly impact a child’s everyday life — from limiting participation in social activities to being treated differently by peers. When asked a simple “yes” or “no” question about food allergy-related bullying, 17 per cent of kids said they’d been bullied, teased or harassed about their food allergy. But when asked to reply to a multi-item list of victimisation behaviours, that number jumped to 31 per cent.
Furthermore, Children’s National Hospital researchers found that only 12 per cent of parents reported being aware of it. The reported bullying ranged from verbal teasing or criticism to more overt acts such as an allergen being waved in their face or intentionally put in their food.
Researchers said identifying accurate assessment methods for this problem are critical so children can get the help they need. “Food allergy-related bullying can have a negative impact on a child`s quality of life. By using a more comprehensive assessment, we found that children with food allergies were bullied more than originally reported and parents may be in the dark about it,” said Linda Herbert, PhD, director of the Psychosocial Clinical and Research Program in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children’s National and one of the study’s researcher.
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