Intolerance of Uncertainty and Protective Parenting in Parents of Children with Food Allergy and Healthy Children
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Date
2020-01-01
Type of Work
Department
Psychology
Program
Psychology
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Distribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author.
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
Abstract
Parents of children with health conditions are at risk for protective parenting, which can have adverse effects on child development. Intolerance of uncertainty is a dispositional trait in which an individual finds any uncertainty or the potential for a negative outcome to be unacceptable. Caring for a child with food allergy typically involves frequent and potentially life-threatening unpredictability, which may be particularly challenging for caregivers high in intolerance of uncertainty and may also increase the risk of protective parenting in order to decrease parental and child negative affect and avoid negative outcomes. The current study examines how both intolerance of uncertainty and having a child with food allergy may be risk factors for the development of protective parenting. The current study included 80 mothers of children with food allergy and 78 mothers of children without any chronic medical conditions. A vignette methodology was used to assess caregiver appraisals of uncertainty, threat, and negative affect in the face of uncertain situations and caregivers' report of their likelihood of using protective parenting behaviors in response to an uncertain parenting situation. Participants also completed questionnaires assessing intolerance of uncertainty, worry, parenting behaviors, and food allergy history (if applicable). Results indicated that child health status moderated the relation between intolerance of uncertainty and protective parenting, such that the strength of the relation was stronger for mothers of children with food allergy compared to mothers of healthy children. Affective and cognitive caregiver appraisals of uncertain parenting situations mediated the association between intolerance of uncertainty and protective parenting. Furthermore, child health status moderated the indirect effects of intolerance of uncertainty on protective parenting via negative affect and via uncertainty appraisal, such that the indirect effect was stronger for mothers of children with food allergy. Worry did not mediate the relation between intolerance of uncertainty and protective parenting. The study helps to identify the mechanisms by which caregivers may develop protective parenting behaviors. Caregivers who are intolerant of uncertainty who also have a child with food allergy may engage in more protective parenting as a result of the frequent and life-threatening uncertainty associated with food allergy. The present findings identify potential areas of intervention to prevent the development of protective parenting.