Relationship Between Freshmen’s Psychological Health and Family Economic Status in Chinese Universities: A Latent Profile Analysis

PURPOSE: With the rapid social changes, psychological health problems among freshmen in universities have become increasingly serious. Many researchers have studied the psychological health status of college freshmen using quantitative methods. However, most researchers have studied the psychological health of college freshmen by treating variables as the central concept and analysis unit, which has limitations on the variable-centered research method. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impact of family economic status and demographic variables on the psychological health of college freshmen, as well as the potential types of psychological health among college freshmen. METHODS: Based on the SCL-90 and the self-evaluation of the family economic status of college freshmen, latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to analyze the psychological health of 1497 college freshmen selected through a whole-group sampling method. Freshmen completed the questionnaire from October 18 to October 20, 2022. Then, multinomial logistic regression analysis and variance analysis were conducted using SPSS 25.0 to analyze the impact of family economic status and demographic variables on different psychological health subtypes of college freshmen from a university in Eastern China. RESULTS: There is obvious heterogeneity in the psychological health of college freshmen, which can be divided into three groups: psychological health group (69.54%), psychological distress group (24.65%), and psychological risk group (5.81%). The latent categories of psychological health among college freshmen differ by gender and family economic status. The psychological health status of female students is significantly better than that of male students. In addition, the lower the self-evaluation of family economic status of college freshmen, the lower their psychological health level. CONCLUSION: Three categories of mental health exist for college freshmen, with significant group heterogeneity. Gender and family economic status significantly influenced mental health outcomes with female students faring better. The study’s significance lies in providing useful recommendations for educational administrators and developing targeted interventions for college freshmen. Given the practical realities of mental health education efforts, personalized strategies that utilize peer support, counseling, and psychological services can be adopted to assist freshmen in acclimating to university life and maintaining mental wellness. The findings suggest considering the role of family economic status and gender in promoting mental health and the need for further research to develop comprehensive and effective interventions.