Family environment profiles and mental health characteristics among Chinese middle school students: A latent profile analysis

This study utilized latent profile analysis (LPA) to explore the heterogeneous profiles of family environments and their associations with mental health among Chinese middle school students. Using data from 2139 participants, we identified three distinct family environment profiles through LPA: Supportive (high cohesion, low conflict), Balanced (moderate cohesion and conflict), and Conflicted (low cohesion, high conflict). Significant mental health variations were observed across these profiles. Adolescents from Conflicted families reported the highest levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation, followed by those from Balanced families; those from Supportive families showed the most favorable outcomes. Correlation analyses confirmed that family cohesion was negatively associated with psychological distress, whereas family conflict was positively associated with it. These findings underscore the critical role of family environment typologies in shaping adolescent mental health and provide empirical evidence for developing targeted, family-based intervention strategies.