Family resilience and its related factors among parents of children with congenital heart disease in China: a latent profile analysis

Parents of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) face chronic stress impairing family functioning and well-being. As a key protective factor, family resilience aids their adaptation. However, existing research predominantly measures general family resilience, neglecting heterogeneous resilience patterns and subgroup profiles. Our study uses person-centered Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify latent family resilience classes in Chinese culture to provide tailored support. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. From October 2024 to July 2025, convenience sampling was used to recruit 426 eligible parents of children with CHD from two tertiary hospitals in Yunnan Province, China. Data were collected using the General Information Questionnaire, Family Hardiness Index (FHI), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). LPA was applied to classify the family resilience levels of these parents. Subsequently, univariate and multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the factors associated with different latent classes of family resilience. A total of 400 valid questionnaires were collected, with an effective response rate of 93.9%. The mean total score for family resilience in parents of children with CHD was 58.13 ± 5.79, suggesting a moderate overall level of family resilience in this group. The family resilience of parents of children with CHD was classified into three latent profiles: “High family resilience responsibility-anchored type” (N = 51), “Low family resilience challenge-vulnerable type” (N = 25), and “Moderate family resilience balanced-stable type” (N = 324). Univariate analysis identified significant differences (all P < 0.05) in the following factors: the number of the child’s cardiac diagnoses, place of residence, parental education, coping styles, family monthly income, and social support. Logistic regression revealed that coping styles, family monthly income, and social support were predictors of family resilience latent classes in CHD children’s parents. Parents of children with CHD demonstrate heterogeneity in family resilience. Healthcare professionals should pay attention to the family resilience differences among parents of children with CHD and implement targeted intervention measures based on the characteristics of different subgroups, thereby enhancing parents’ family resilience and further promoting family well-being.