Associations of psychological capital latent profiles with depression and anxiety: A cross-sectional study in Chinese college students

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to identify different psychological capital subtypes among college students through latent profile analysis (LPA) and to explore the associations of psychological capital subtypes, internet usage duration and physical exercise frequency with on both depression and anxiety. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study design was implemented. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the "Questionnaire Star" platform. The questionnaires of Psychological Capital Scale, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 were administered to 1089 college students from a university in Zhengzhou, China. Latent profile analysis was applied to identify latent subtypes of psychological capital. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to investigate the associations of psychological capital subtypes with both depression and anxiety. RESULTS: Three psychological capital latent profiles were identified: low self-efficacy (11.7%), moderate (57.8%), and high psychological capital (30.5%) in Chinese college students. High psychological capital group showed significantly higher scores of self-efficacy, resilience, hope, and optimism than other two groups (P < 0.001). Internet usage time and physical exercise frequency exhibited positive associations with psychological capital subtypes. Compared with the low self-efficacy group, the moderate and high latent groups had significantly lower scores of both depression and anxiety. Older students had higher scores of both depression and anxiety than younger. CONCLUSION: Three latent profiles, low self-efficacy, moderate, and high psychological capital, were identified in Chinese college students. Self-efficacy is the key dimension distinguishing between the different subtypes. Adequate internet use and physical exercise frequency improved psychological capital profile. High psychological capital levels effectively reduced the scores of both depression and anxiety.