While the list of adverse effects of COVID is long, maybe there are some positive effects, too?

This study took advantage of the increase in shared family meals during COVID-19 lockdowns to investigate associations between frequency changes and changes in the quality of family dinners. Having more meals was linked with a rise in positive emotional interactions at the table and more family support with preparing meals. Although more dinners were also associated with more negative behaviors, there were more positive associations. Most strikingly, families used remote technology during dinner more often to connect with others during dinner, a qualitative shift in family dinners that is likely to continue to transform family meals postpandemic.

From the press release:

While the lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic led many families to eat more meals at home, they had an additional benefit: an increase in the quality of family time during those dinners, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

The study, published in the journal Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, found that families who ate together more often during the pandemic also had more positive interactions, shared news and information, and even embraced technology such as videoconferencing to connect with distant family members.

“The predominance of past research on family dinners has focused on frequency as the key predictor of benefits for children and adolescents,” said lead author Anne Fishel, PhD, a clinician and researcher in family therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital. “This study highlights the importance of examining both frequency and quality to understand the full picture of how shared meals can impact families.”

Researchers examined data from a survey of 517 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse parents across the United States, administered in May 2021. Their aim was to investigate changes in family dinner frequency and quality during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants were asked about dinner frequency, quality and post-pandemic expectations. The survey included questions about positive and negative interactions, family support and incorporation of the outside world. They were asked questions such as, “During the pandemic, did all or most of the people living in your home eat dinner together less, about the same, or more than compared to before the pandemic?” Participants then provided answers ranging on a scale of 1-5, 1 being “much less” and 5 being “much more.”

Over 60% of respondents reported eating dinner together more often during the pandemic compared with pre-pandemic times. There was also a significant increase in positive interactions (e.g, expressing gratitude, laughing or feeling connected) during family meals.

“Specifically, 56% said they increased talking about their days during dinner, 60% said they increased talking about their identity as a family, 60% said they increased expressing gratitude, 67% said they increased laughing together and 59% said they felt more connected to each other around the dinner table,” said Fishel. This positive association was evident across income levels, education, age, gender and race.

The pandemic introduced new aspects to family dinners, including remote dining with extended family members and more discussions about current events, according to Fishel. Many families turned to videoconferencing to connect with extended family, potentially strengthening a sense of belonging to a larger family unit. Most parents who increased the use of technology for remote dinners during the pandemic reported that they plan to continue this practice as the pandemic subsides.

The researchers also found an increase in families incorporating news and information from the outside world into their dinner conversations, potentially offering a safe space for children to discuss anxieties and questions with their parents.

Overall, this study suggests that the increased frequency of family dinners during the pandemic may have had lasting positive effects on family dynamics, according to Fishel.

“The pandemic changed many aspects of our lives, some for the better. Even though parents did not purposely sign up to have more shared mealtimes, increases in family dinners were largely linked with improvements in the quality of pandemic-era family dinners,” she said.

The findings also highlight the potential benefits of using technology to connect with extended family and incorporating current events into dinner conversations.

“The continued use of remote technology to connect with those not physically present may bring ongoing opportunities for family bonding and children’s feeling a sense of belonging to a larger unit, which we know is protective for their well-being,” said Fishel.

Abstract of the study:

While the predominance of previous family dinner research has focused on family dinner frequency, the quality of the mealtime atmosphere also accounts for impactful mental health and nutritional benefits to children and adults. COVID-19 lockdowns dramatically increased the frequency of meals eaten at home, providing a unique opportunity to examine whether the quality of family dinners also improved. Additionally, the pandemic boosted the number of meals shared remotely with family and friends, thus changing how families ate dinner. Using a newly validated measure encompassing previously established as well as pandemic-related family dinner qualities (positive emotional interactions, negative mealtime behaviors, family support during meal preparation, and incorporation of the outside world), this study assessed frequency and quality changes in family dinners in a diverse, representative sample of 517 U.S. parents. Multivariate regressions in a structural equation modeling framework found that greater increases in family dinner frequency were linked with improvements in family dinner qualities, including positive emotional interactions, family support, and incorporation of the outside world. Most parents who increased their use of technology anticipated continuing those changes after COVID-19 abates. Greater frequency of family dinners was also associated with a rise in negative mealtime behaviors, but there were more changes in positive qualities. Given that the quality of dinners has been changed by frequency and by technology, these findings have important implications for researchers and clinicians interested in maximizing the protective qualities of family dinner.