Parental confidence in managing food allergy: development of the Food Allergy Self-Efficacy Scale for parents (FASE-P)

Rebecca C. Knibb*, Christopher Barnes, Carol Stalker

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Food allergy is often a life-long condition that requires constant vigilance in order to prevent accidental exposure and avoid potentially life-threatening symptoms. Parents’ confidence in managing their child’s food allergy may relate to the poor quality of life anxiety and worry reported by parents of food allergic children.
Objective: The aim of the current study was to develop and validate the first scale to measure parental confidence (self-efficacy) in managing food allergy in their child.
Methods: The Food Allergy Self-Efficacy Scale for Parents (FASE-P) was developed through interviews with 53 parents, consultation of the literature and experts in the area. The FASE-P was then completed by 434 parents of food allergic children from a general population sample in addition to the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the Food Allergy Quality of Life Parental Burden Scale (FAQL-PB), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) and the Food Allergy Impact Measure (FAIM). A total of 250 parents completed the re-test of the FASE-P.
Results: Factor and reliability analysis resulted in a 21 item scale with 5 sub-scales. The overall scale and sub-scales has good to excellent internal consistency (α’s of 0.63-0.89) and the scale is stable over time. There were low to moderate significant correlations with the GSES, FAIM and GHQ12 and strong correlations with the FAQL-PB, with better parental confidence relating to better general self-efficacy, better quality of life and better mental health in the parent. Poorer self-efficacy was related to egg and milk allergy; self-efficacy was not related to severity of allergy.
Conclusions and clinical relevance: The FASE-P is a reliable and valid scale for use with parents from a general population. Its application within clinical settings could aid provision of advice and improve targeted interventions by identifying areas where parents have less confidence in managing their child’s food allergy.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1681-1689
Number of pages9
JournalClinical and Experimental Allergy
Volume45
Issue number11
Early online date28 Jul 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Bibliographical note

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Knibb, R. C., Barnes, C., & Stalker, C. (2015). Parental confidence in managing food allergy: development of the Food Allergy Self-Efficacy Scale for parents (FASE-P). Clinical and experimental allergy, 45(11), 1681-1689, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cea.12599. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

Keywords

  • Confidence
  • Food allergy
  • Parents
  • Quality of life
  • Self-efficacy

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