以生態系統論探討學齡兒童幸福感暨認知功能：微系統的角色

Abstract

生態系統論（ecological systems theory）將發展視作兒童與不同社會系統直接或間接互動的結果，並強調各系統間的連結和統整，共同形塑兒童的社會、認知和情緒等能力的發展。過去研究顯示，兒童的幸福感和執行功能、心智理論等認知功能的發展都深受家庭、學校等微系統的社會環境因素影響，卻鮮少研究檢驗幸福感和認知功能不同成分與微系統互動品質的個別關聯。本研究採取生態系統論視角，檢視學齡兒童在家庭、朋友、學校等微系統的互動品質，是否和主觀幸福感及認知功能各項成分發展有關？本研究以8至12歲學齡兒童（n = 80）為對象，並以臺灣版「國際兒童幸福感」問卷評估兒童的主觀幸福感及微系統互動品質，並且用實驗作業測量執行功能（抑制控制、工作記憶、認知彈性、計畫）與進階心智理論（社會認知、社會知覺）。研究發現：（一）學齡期間主觀幸福感、執行功能與心智理論不同成分的發展趨勢不同。（二）兒童微系統的互動品質和8-9歲及10-12歲兒童的主觀幸福感有關；10-12歲兒童的微系統品質和認知彈性作業表現有關。（三）10-12歲兒童的認知彈性、社會知覺心智理論，與主觀幸福感不同成分關係密切。除了橫斷研究設計，本研究也進行為期一年半的縱貫研究（n = 41）。結果顯示，主觀幸福感的「正向情感」和兩項進階心智理論具有穩定的個別發展連續關聯。整體而言，本研究支持生態系統論中微系統在兒童發展所扮演的核心角色，並發現兒童的微系統互動品質對其主觀幸福感與認知功能的影響，存在著年齡組別的差異。研究結果除了展現學齡兒童對幸福感的理解與其認知能力之間的關聯，也意涵提升兒童幸福感及促進認知成長的發展機制。

Ecological systems theory views development as a product of both direct and indirect interactions between the child and different ecological systems, emphasizing how the integration of these systems shapes children’s social, cognitive, and emotional development. While research has shown that children’s subjective well-being (SWB) and cognitive development are both sensitive to the quality of microsystems, such as family and school, the relationships among different components of SWB, cognitive functions, and microsystem qualities remain unclear. Adopting an ecological systems perspective, the present study examined how children’s microsystem qualities relate to their SWB and cognitive functions. The sample consisted of 80 children aged 8 to 12 years. SWB and microsystem qualities were assessed using the Taiwanese version of the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (ISCWeB), while executive function (EF, including inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning) and advanced theory of mind (AToM, including social-cognitive and social-perceptual components) were measured through laboratory tasks. The results revealed that (1) different components of SWB, EF, and AToM showed different developmental trends during middle childhood; (2) the quality of microsystems was closely related to SWB in both younger (8–9 years) and older (10–12 years) children, as well as to cognitive flexibility in older children; and (3) among children aged 10–12 years, cognitive flexibility and social-perceptual ToM were associated with different components of SWB. An 18-month longitudinal study (n = 41) was also conducted. The results showed that the positive affect of SWB and both AToM components demonstrated stable individual differences over time. Overall, the findings support the crucial role of microsystems in children’s development of SWB and cognitive functions, highlighting notable age-related differences. These results highlight the links between school-aged children’s well-being and cognitive development, with implications for promoting positive developmental outcomes.