Staff, Kate (2015) The Influence of Australian Parents’ Food Allergy Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs on Feeding Practices in Young Children. Coursework Masters thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Approximately 10% of Australian children have diagnosed food allergies, which are ii associated with potentially serious physical and psychosocial consequences. As food allergies are likely to reflect an interaction between genetic factors and environmental exposure, the timing of introducing foods into an infant’s diet has been widely debated. A myriad of inconsistent infant feeding guidelines aimed at preventing allergies have therefore emerged, both between and within countries. This study aimed to investigate the ages at which parents introduce high allergen foods to their children, what influences when common childhood allergens are introduced, and if introducing high allergen foods causes concern for parents. This study also aimed to measure Australian parents’ food allergy knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. Participants were 191 parents of children aged 0-24 months with (n = 42) and without (n = 149) food allergies. Consenting parents completed an online survey comprising of a demographic questionnaire, questions regarding feeding practices and the appropriate version of the Chicago Food Allergy Research Survey. Findings indicated that most parents introduce solids to their children within the recommended age range of four to six months. Despite current recommendations, the introduction of high allergen foods was often avoided or delayed, with large proportions of parents choosing not to introduce specific allergens as they believed their child was too young. Advice received from health practitioners was identified as having a strong influence on parents’ decisions to introduce high allergen foods. All parents reported moderate levels of concern when introducing allergens to their children. Australian parents exhibited a solid baseline food allergy knowledge (parents of children with food allergies = 73.40% accuracy; parents of children without food allergies = 61.46%), however, a number of common misconceptions were evident in both groups. Parental attitudes and beliefs were diverse; however, the seriousness of food allergy in Australia was acknowledged by most parents of children without food allergies (74.50%). Accuracy in food allergy knowledge was shown to significantly predict earlier ages of milk and peanut introduction. The findings from this study suggest that targeted food allergy awareness iii programs are required in order to address common misconceptions and to educate parents on the recommended timings for the introduction of high allergen foods.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Coursework Masters) |
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| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Michelle Adamson |
| Qualification: | Master of Psychology (Clinical) |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Sep 2025 23:51 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Sep 2025 23:51 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | food allergies ; children ; high allergen food introduction ; parental guidance ; food allergy knowledge ; feeding practices |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52777 |
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