Lins de Holanda Coelho Gabriel, Pereira Monteiro Renan, DunnGalvin Audrey
Postdoctoral Researcher at University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Federal University of Paraíba, Joao Pessoa, Brazil.
Clin Transl Allergy. 2022 Oct;12(10):e12205. doi: 10.1002/clt2.12205.
Daily, we tend to evaluate things positively or negatively, according to whether they follow the general information available about them. This attitudinal assessment is represented through evaluative dimensions (e.g., good-bad) that vary in terms of valence (positive or negative) and strength (less or more). Despite its importance, there is an urge in food allergy (FA) research to properly assess attitudes based on the underlying mechanisms that define attitudes.
The present research aimed to develop the Attitudes Towards Food Allergy scale (ATFAS), the first attitudinal measure of FA.
Two studies were performed (n = 1049), using a range of robust statistical analyses (e.g., Item Response Theory, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis).
Our results provided strong evidence for a unidimensional attitudinal structure, across groups of non-allergic individuals and food-allergic, besides recommended reliability levels. All items presented suitable parameters (i.e., discrimination, difficulty, information). Finally, the ATFAS significantly predicted FA quality of life, mediated by FA anxiety.
We are confident that the ATFAS is a novel and necessary measure, that can help to widen how we view and assess FA. The development of studies that assess attitudes towards FA based on our general information about the disorder would help to deepen our understanding of their links to other health-related variables and their potential impact on quality of life, reduce FA's stigma, and develop more positive attitudes.
每天，我们倾向于根据事物是否符合我们所掌握的关于它们的一般信息来对其进行积极或消极的评价。这种态度评估通过评价维度（如好-坏）来体现，这些维度在效价（积极或消极）和强度（弱或强）方面存在差异。尽管其很重要，但在食物过敏（FA）研究中，迫切需要基于定义态度的潜在机制来恰当地评估态度。
本研究旨在开发食物过敏态度量表（ATFAS），这是首个针对食物过敏的态度测量工具。
进行了两项研究（n = 1049），采用了一系列稳健的统计分析方法（如项目反应理论、探索性因素分析、验证性因素分析）。
我们的结果为非过敏个体组和食物过敏个体组中存在单维态度结构提供了有力证据，同时达到了推荐的信度水平。所有项目都呈现出合适的参数（即区分度、难度、信息量）。最后，ATFAS通过食物过敏焦虑显著预测了食物过敏患者的生活质量。
我们相信ATFAS是一种新颖且必要的测量工具，有助于拓宽我们看待和评估食物过敏的方式。基于我们对该疾病的一般信息来评估对食物过敏态度的研究发展，将有助于加深我们对其与其他健康相关变量之间联系及其对生活质量潜在影响的理解，减少食物过敏的污名化，并培养更积极的态度。
