Social support profiles, mental health, and future orientation in military trainees: implications for clinical social work and health care practice

The psychosocial transition during military training poses a significant public health risk requiring preventive, health-integrated responses. This study applied latent class analysis to identify five social support profiles among 2325 military trainees in Taiwan and examined associations with depressive symptoms and future orientation. Family cohesion and extraversion predicted membership in higher-support profiles. Trainees in the low-support profile reported elevated depressive symptoms and weakened future orientation, indicating a clinically significant risk group. The identified profiles translate interpersonal dynamics into indicators for health and military social workers, supporting risk stratification, early screening, and targeted micro- and mezzo-level interventions within integrated healthcare systems.