Are family meals and social eating behaviour associated with depression, anxiety, and stress in adolescents? The EHDLA study

Objective This study examined the association between family meals and social eating behaviour with depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among Spanish adolescents. Methods This was a cross-sectional study with data obtained from a representative sample of adolescents aged 12–17 years from Valle de Ricote, Murcia, Spain. Emotional symptomatology was evaluated with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. The frequency of family meals and social eating behaviour were self-reported. Results Each additional point in social eating behaviour decreased the probability of having a higher number of depressive (OR = 0.83; 95%CI, 0.75–0.92), anxiety (OR = 0.88; 95%CI, 0.80–0.97) and stress (OR = 0.90; 95%CI, 0.82–0.99) symptoms. Conclusions Higher social eating behaviour was associated with lower probabilities of higher number of depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms.