Written by Joyce Smith, BS. This study evaluates the bullying experiences of black and white children with food allergies (FA), and how these experience affect peer relationships, anxiety, and school policies.
According to recent studies, FA affect eight percent of American children 1, and lead to social isolation, depression, anxiety, and other forms of psychological stress. Bullying often exacerbates the problem 2. A 2013 study reported that 53% of children with FA reported being bullied and 25% of parents reported that their children were victims of bullying 3. Other studies report incidences of teen and young adults who were bullied, teased and harassed because of their food allergies. A recent study found that, in spite of reports of repeated bullying in the classroom 4, only 50% of teachers were aware of an association between FA and bullying 5.
To better understand the impact of bullying, Brown and colleagues 6 sought to explore the bullying experiences of Black and White children with food allergy (FA), not only with respect to child peer relationships and anxiety but also with respect to school FA management practices and policies. Surveys were administered to parents of 252 children with physician-diagnosed food allergies who were enrolled in the multi-site FORWARD (Food Allergy Outcomes Related to White and African American Racial Differences) cohort. The surveys were designed to assess demographics, atopic disease, bullying victimization, and school FA management practices and policies. After adjusting for race, age, parental education, household income, child gender and food allergies, researchers found that 18.7% of all children experienced bullying because of their food allergies. There were no significant racial differences among the bullied victims; however, for children ages 11 and up, White children experienced higher rates of bullying (44.8% vs 18.2% of Black). Black children experienced nonfood allergy-related bullying twice as frequently as White children (38.6% vs. 17.7%; p=.002). Children who experienced both FA-related bullying and other types of bullying had significantly higher anxiety scores. The majority (85.7%) of caregivers reported that intervening on behalf of their child’s bullying was helpful in terminating the bullying.
Among the surveyed parents, 17.3% reported being teased and/or bullied because of their children’s food allergies. Over half of respondents (54.8%) reported that some allergens have been banned from their child’s school. Of those respondents, 98% reported that peanuts and 75% reported that tree nuts were not allowed in schools. Schools that banned peanuts had less frequently-reported FA-related bullying from all food-allergic students. Almost all of the surveyed parents stated that their child had his or her own epinephrine auto-injector at school and 26% believed the school carried available epinephrine. Approximately 30 % of black and white respondents reported that allergen-free lunch areas were available where peanut and dairy-free tables were provided.
Researchers concluded that bullying due to food allergy is common and problematic and suggest that caregivers, medical professionals and school administrators can all lessen the impact of bullying by screening for it and supporting and implementing school policies that prohibit it. Increasing school policy awareness for parents and greater educational awareness of food-related allergies for students is critical.
Limitations include parent-proxy reporting of child bullying and potentially inaccurate parent reporting of school policies. As the study cohort of children get older, the research team plans to further examine the effects of bullying on these children over time.
Source: Brown, Dannielle, et al. “Food allergy-related bullying and associated peer dynamics among Black and White children in the FORWARD study.” Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (2020).
© 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
Posted March 8, 2021.
Joyce Smith, BS, is a degreed laboratory technologist. She received her bachelor of arts with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology from the University of Saskatchewan and her internship through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Bloomingdale, IL.
References:
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- Cummings AJ, Knibb RC, King RM, Lucas JS. The psychosocial impact of food allergy and food hypersensitivity in children, adolescents and their families: a review. Allergy. 2010;65(8):933-945.
- Shemesh E, Annunziato RA, Ambrose MA, et al. Child and parental reports of bullying in a consecutive sample of children with food allergy. Pediatrics. 2013;131(1):e10-17.
- Lieberman JA, Weiss C, Furlong TJ, Sicherer M, Sicherer SH. Bullying among pediatric patients with food allergy. Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology. 2010;105(4):282-286.
- Wang J, Bingemann T, Russell AF, Young MC, Sicherer SH. The Allergist’s Role in Anaphylaxis and Food Allergy Management in the School and Childcare Setting. The journal of allergy and clinical immunology In practice. 2018;6(2):427-435.
- Brown D, Negris O, Gupta R, et al. Food allergy-related bullying and associated peer dynamics among Black and White children in the FORWARD study. Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology. 2021;126(3):255-263.e251.
