親子共餐與憂鬱情緒之長期關係

Abstract

研究背景：青少年時期在心理與社會層面相對脆弱，易受到外在環境壓力影響。過去研究指出，定期家庭共餐有助於降低青少年憂鬱情緒，並促進心理健康。尤其，父母在共餐過程中的傾聽與親子互動，有助於建立良好親子關係，對父母與子女雙方皆具正向影響。此外，青少年時期共餐經驗亦被證實能降低成年後憂鬱情緒風險。然而，現有文獻多聚焦於幼兒與國中小學生，且以橫斷性研究為主，較少針對國高中生進行長期追蹤，亦較少探討不同共餐對象之影響。因此，本研究旨在探討親子共餐與憂鬱情緒之長期關係，具體分析國高中時期共餐類型對大學時期憂鬱情緒的影響，並進一步檢視高中時期與不同家長（如父親或母親）共餐型態對其憂鬱情緒之影響。 研究目的：本研究目的為：（1）探討國高中時期之親子共餐類型與分布情形；（2）探討國高中時期親子共餐類型與大學時期憂鬱情緒之關係；（3）分析高中時期共餐對象類型與大學時期憂鬱情緒之關係。 研究方法：本研究使用臺灣「兒童與青少年行為之長期發展研究計畫（CABLE）」之第一世代在2007至2016年資料。最後納入1,624名，於國高中時期具有三波以上親子共餐資料及大學憂鬱情緒評量之樣本作為主要分析對象；另以高中期間具完整親子共餐對象資料者為次要樣本（樣本數為1316名）。主要採用潛在類別分析（Latent Class Analysis, LCA）歸納親子共餐頻率與共餐對象型態。最後，以線性迴歸分析檢視，不同對象共餐類型與大學時期憂鬱情緒之關聯。 研究結果：本研究透過潛在類別分析將親子共餐型態分為四類，分別為「持續低頻組」（35%）、「共餐下降組」（33%）、「共餐上升組」（27%）以及「從未共餐組」（5%）。高中時期不同共餐對象類型則可分為五類，分別為「持續低頻組」（28%）、「持續高頻組」（24%）、「高頻下降組」（23%）、「低頻下降組」（13%）及「父低母高組」（11%）。線性迴歸分析結果顯示，在控制社會人口學變項及家庭關係後，國高中時期屬於「共餐下降組」者，其大學時期憂鬱情緒顯著高於「持續低頻組」 （B=0.68，95% CI：0.20, 1.15，p<0.01）。然而，當進一步將國中時期憂鬱情緒納入模型後，該關係轉為不顯著（B=0.01，95% CI：−0.44, 0.45）。至於「共餐上升組」與「從未共餐組」，在各模型中皆未達統計顯著。在高中時期不同共餐對象類型方面，在於控制社會人口學變項、家庭關係以及國中時期憂鬱情緒後，「持續高頻組」的大學時期憂鬱情緒顯著低於「低頻下降組」（B=−0.51，95% CI：−0.98, −0.04，p<0.05）。此外，「高頻下降組」在未控制變項時，亦達統計顯著（B=−0.61，95% CI：−1.15, −0.06，p<0.05），但納入社會人口學變項後則轉為不顯著。至於「持續低頻組」與「父低母高組」，在各模型中皆未達統計顯著。 結論： 本研究結果顯示，青少年時期若能維持穩定且高頻率之親子共餐，有助於降低大學時期憂鬱情緒。此外，青少年早期的情緒狀態可能同時影響親子共餐習慣與後續憂鬱情緒表現，為後續相關研究與實務介入時不可忽視的重要因素。高中時期不同共餐對象分析亦發現，雙親皆高頻共餐者之憂鬱情緒顯著較低，顯示父母雙方穩定參與共餐，對青少年後續心理健康具有關鍵性的正向影響。

Background: Adolescence is a psychologically and socially vulnerable period, during which individuals are particularly sensitive to environmental stressors. Previous studies suggested that regular family meals can alleviate depressive symptoms and enhance adolescents’ mental health by fostering positive parent–child interactions. Additionally, frequent shared meals during adolescence have been associated with lower risks of depressive symptoms in later life. However, most existing studies have focused on young children using cross-sectional data. Longitudinal research examining junior and senior high school students, particularly regarding dining patterns with different parents, remains limited. This study addresses this gap by investigating how various parent–child mealtime patterns during junior and senior high school relate to depressive symptoms in university students. Objectives: This study aimed to: (1) identify distinct patterns of parent–child mealtime during junior and senior high school; (2) examine the relationship between parent–child mealtime patterns during junior and senior high school and depressive symptoms in university; (3) explore how different parent-specific mealtime arrangements during senior high school influence later depressive symptoms. Methods: Data were drawn from the first-generation cohort (2007–2016) of the Child and Adolescent Behaviors in Long-term Evolution (CABLE) study. The primary sample included 1,624 participants with valid data on parent–child meals across at least three waves and depression scores in university. A subsample of 1,316 participants with complete data on senior high school mealtime companions was used for supplementary analysis. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was applied to identify meal frequency patterns, followed by linear regression to assess associations with depressive symptoms in university. Results: LCA revealed four meal frequency patterns during junior and senior high school: Consistently Low Frequency (35%), Decreasing Frequency (33%), Increasing Frequency (27%), and Never Shared Meals (5%). For senior high school mealtime companions, five groups emerged: Consistently Low (28%), Consistently High (24%), High-to-Low (23%), Low-to-Low (13%), and Low Father–High Mother (11%). Regression results showed that participants in the Decreasing Frequency group reported significantly higher depressive symptoms in university than those in the Consistently Low group (B = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.20, 1.15, p < 0.01), after adjusting for sociodemographic and family relationship factors. However, this association became non-significant when early adolescent depressive symptoms were considered. No significant associations were found for the Increasing Frequency or Never Shared Meals groups. Regarding senior high school mealtime companions, the Consistently High group showed significantly lower university depressive symptoms than the Low-to-Low group, even after adjusting for all covariates, including early depressive symptoms (B = −0.51, 95% CI: −0.98, −0.04, p < 0.05). The High-to-Low group initially showed a significant association (B = −0.61, 95% CI: −1.15, −0.06, p < 0.05), which became non-significant after adjusting for sociodemographic. Other patterns showed no significant differences. Conclusion: Maintaining frequent and stable parent–child mealtime during adolescence appears to protect against depressive symptoms in early adulthood. The protective effect is especially evident when both parents consistently participate in shared meals. Additionally, depressive symptoms in early adolescence may influence both mealtime patterns and later mental health outcomes. These findings underscore the importance of family mealtime as a potential target for long-term mental health promotion and early intervention strategies.