Adolescents living with food allergies in select global cities: Does a WhatsApp-based mindful eating intervention promote wellbeing and enhance their self-concept?

Abstract

Purpose: Food allergy prevalence in children and adolescents is increasing globally. Dietary restrictions are linked to the identities of food-allergic adolescents, which influences their wellbeing and self-concept. Mindful eating (ME) has been widely used to treat eating disorders. This study investigates whether WhatsApp-based mindful eating (ME) posts are effective for food-allergic adolescents in managing the condition, building self-concept and wellbeing. Design and methods: A waitlist control design study was conducted with food-allergic adolescents (N pre-test = 244; N post-test = 215). Three measures were used to assess the outcomes pre- (T1) and post-test (T2): Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ), Brief Psychological Wellbeing Scale for Adolescents (BPWBS-A), and Piers-Harris 2 Children's Self-Concept Scale (PH-2-CSCC). Results: The intervention was overall effective and more so for girls, middle class adolescents, with mothers as primary caregivers, whose primary caregivers had higher or postgraduate and professional qualifications, who were in turn also more likely to report no anaphylactic reaction and hospitalization emergency episodes at T2. Intervention compliance mediated the association between demographic predictors and outcome scores. Discriminant function analysis indicated stronger associations between certain predictors and subdomains of the self-concept outcome. Conclusions: With adequate emphasis on intervention compliance and condition management, the WhatsApp-based ME posts would be effective for food-allergic adolescents. Practical implications: Pediatric nurses can recommend the intervention for community-dwelling food-allergic adolescents across contexts. Some refinements may be needed for boys, upper class adolescents, with father/kin as primary caregivers and less qualified parents.