Identifying the subtypes of psychological profiles in senior undergraduate nursing students and its relationship with academic performance: A latent class analysis

Students' academic performance is closely related to their personal psychological factors. The subtypes and heterogeneity of psychological profiles among nursing students has not been systematically examined. To identify subtypes of psychological profiles among nursing students using latent class analysis (LCA). A cross-sectional study design included 379 senior nursing undergraduate students aged 18–22 from three medical colleges in Shanghai. The subjects were investigated by Ruminative Responses Scale, Academic Burnout Scale and Psychological Capital Scale and were categorized into subtypes by LCA. Four latent classes were identified: Class 1 – General group; Class 2 – Negative psychological dominated group; Class 3 – Positive psychological dominated group; and Class 4 – Ambivalence psychological group. Students with higher exam failure rate were more likely to belong to Class 2. After adjusted for demographic variables, the subtypes of psychological profiles significantly correlated with academic performance. The significant heterogeneities were noted between psychological profile subtypes and academic performance among senior undergraduate nursing students.