D2.523 - Dyadic parenting stress and marital communication among parents of young children with food allergies

The prevalence of food allergies among infants and young children is increasing worldwide, placing a psychological burden on parents as they manage their children's daily meal. This study aimed to clarify the impact of infant food allergies on parenting stress and the influence of marital communication on parenting stress.

Subjects included 122 parents: 58 couples with food-allergic children (0-6 years old) and 64 couples with non-food-allergic children (0-6 years old). Parenting stress was compared using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the influence of marital communication patterns on parenting stress was examined using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM).

The parents of food-allergic children experienced significantly higher parenting stress than parents of non-food-allergic children (p=0.003), particularly among mothers (p<0.001). Furthermore, empathic communication patterns among fathers of food-allergic children significantly reduced parenting stress among mothers (p<0.05). Furthermore, the coercive communication patterns of couples with food-allergic children significantly increased parenting stress for both partners (p<0.05).

These findings suggest that in families with food-allergic infants and young children, comprehensive support is needed to reduce parenting stress for both mothers and fathers, with particular focus on marital communication.