Emotional Vulnerability as a Transdiagnostic Factor in Addictive Behaviors: A Multicenter Latent Profile Analysis of Substance and Behavioral Patterns

Abstract Although emotional vulnerability (EV) is an important construct linked to addictive behaviors, further studies are needed to evaluate EV within a transdiagnostic context that integrates affective parameters, emotion-regulation strategies, and aspects of impulsivity. In this study, we investigated the association between EV and indicators of substance-related and behavioral addiction using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). A total of 1,696 university students from Brazil and Canada completed measures assessing affective symptoms, emotion regulation, impulsivity, problematic alcohol use, smartphone addiction, quality of life, and smoking and e-cigarette use. The LPA for EV was conducted using seven indicators (the total scores from the depression, anxiety, and stress subscales of the DASS-21; the overall DERS-18 score; scores for the Negative Urgency and Positive Urgency subdimensions of the UPPS-P; and the psychological subdimension of the WHOQOL-BREF). The best-fitting model identified three classes: High Emotional Vulnerability (HEV; 18.9%), Moderate Emotional Vulnerability (MEV; 42.2%), and Low Emotional Vulnerability (LEV; 38.9%). The HEV class exhibited significantly higher levels of emotional dysregulation, depression, anxiety, and stress, along with lower psychological quality of life, than the other classes. The results indicated that the HEV profile was more strongly associated with problematic alcohol use, smoking, and smartphone addiction. These findings indicate that students with higher EV showed higher levels of substance-related and behavioral addiction indicators, which may inform programs addressing transdiagnostic emotional factors in academic environments.