Food allergy and attitudes to close interpersonal relationships: an exploratory study on attachment

Background Food allergy is a common immunological disease that includes potentially fatal reactions. It impacts considerably on patients’ social life including close interpersonal relationships. Attachment theory provides a theoretical framework to evaluate the quality of close interpersonal relationships in chronic disorders. Attachment insecurity, mainly characterized by attachment avoidance, has been found in a variety of health conditions, but still needs to be investigated in food allergy. The study aimed to investigate attachment, as attitude to close interpersonal relationships, among food-allergic young patients, compared to healthy controls. Methods This is a cross-sectional study involving patients suffering from IgE-mediated food allergy sequentially recruited and matched to healthy controls for age and gender. The Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) was used to assess five factors and two attachment dimensions (Anxiety-Avoidance). Associations with anaphylaxis and adrenaline prescription were explored among patients. Results 174 participants were assessed (female=45%; Mean age=17.51; SD=4.26). Food-allergic patients reported significantly higher levels of Discomfort with closeness (p<0.05), Relationships as secondary (p<0.05) and Attachment Avoidance (p<0.0001) compared to controls. Conclusions Clinicians should be aware of implications of insecure attachment for health and illness. They should support patients in limiting social impairment finding a balance between safety and psychological wellbeing. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.