Childhood separation caused by parental migration increases the risk of suffering depressive symptoms among college students. However, most studies in this field have focused on environmental factors and largely ignored the role of physiological reactivity to stress (e.g., parasympathetic nervous system activity) in this process. The present study examined the long-term effects of the parent–child separation experience on depressive symptoms in college students, and explored the moderating role of parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity in these relationships. The participants were 242 college students (M_age = 18.74 years, SD = 0.79; 32.2% male), including 149 college students who experienced parent–child separation and 93 college students without this experience. Using a three-wave longitudinal design, participants completed the measures of the parent–child separation experience, PNS activity (measured via respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA), and depressive symptoms at Time 1 (T1, before the COVID-19 lockdown). Their depressive symptoms were again measured at Time 2 (T2, during the COVID-19 lockdown) and Time 3 (T3, after the COVID-19 lockdown). The results showed that the parent–child separation experience positively predicted depressive symptoms in college students at three time points. Moreover, the parent–child separation experience positively predicted depressive symptoms at T2 among males with less and average RSA suppression but positively predicted depressive symptoms at T2 among females with greater RSA suppression. These findings indicate a long-term effect of parent–child separation on depressive symptoms in college students that still exist after they entered university, and that the effect varies depending on PNS activity and gender.

父母外出导致的童年分离增加了大学生出现抑郁症状的风险。然而，该领域的大多数研究都集中在环境因素上，而很大程度上忽略了在此过程中对应激的生理反应（例如副交感神经系统活动）的作用。本研究探讨了亲子分离经历对大学生抑郁症状的长期影响，并探讨了副交感神经系统（PNS）活动在这些关系中的调节作用。参与者为242名大学生（M_年龄 =18.74岁，SD  =0.79；男性占32.2%），其中经历过亲子分离的大学生149名，没有经历过亲子分离的大学生93名。采用三波纵向设计，参与者在时间 1（T1，COVID-19 封锁之前）完成了亲子分离经历、PNS 活动（通过呼吸性窦性心律失常，RSA 测量）和抑郁症状的测量。在时间 2（T2，COVID-19 封锁期间）和时间 3（T3，COVID-19 封锁之后）再次测量他们的抑郁症状。结果显示，亲子分离经历在三个时间点正向预测大学生的抑郁症状。此外，对于 RSA 抑制程度较低且平均的男性，亲子分离经历正向预测 T2 时的抑郁症状，而对于 RSA 抑制程度较高的女性，亲子分离经历则正向预测 T2 时的抑郁症状。这些研究结果表明，亲子分离对大学生抑郁症状的长期影响在进入大学后仍然存在，而且这种影响因三七总皂甙活动和性别而异。