Profiles of Civic Engagement and Their Association with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Nursing Students in Saudi Arabia

Background: Civic engagement plays an important role in promoting psychological wellbeing among university students. However, little is known about the heterogeneity of civic engagement patterns among nursing students and their association with psychological distress. We aimed to identify latent profiles of civic engagement and examine their associations with depression, anxiety, and stress. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study among 255 nursing students at King Saud University. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire assessing civic engagement and psychological distress. To evaluate the psychometric properties of the civic engagement scale, we employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Latent profile analysis was used to identify distinct civic engagement profiles based on civic attitudes, civic behaviors, and community interest. We also fitted multivariable linear regression models to quantify the associations between civic engagement profiles and psychological distress outcomes. Results: The civic engagement scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.93). Factor analyses supported a two-factor structure consisting of civic attitudes and civic behaviors. Latent profile analysis identified four distinct civic engagement profiles: Low engagement (16.9%), Moderate Engagement (22.0%), High civic awareness (43.1%), and Attitude Oriented (18.0%). Our findings showed significant differences across profiles in depression, anxiety, and stress scores. We observed that, compared with students in the low engagement profile, those in the Attitude Oriented profile demonstrated significantly lower depression (β = −6.63, 95% CI: −10.79 to −2.48), anxiety (β = −4.72, 95% CI: −8.87 to −0.58), and stress scores (β = −6.95, 95% CI: −10.81 to −3.09). Female students and students aged 21 to 23 years also showed significant association with lower psychological distress levels. Conclusions: Our findings suggested that there was distinct patterns of civic engagement among nursing students that are significantly associated with psychological distress. Higher civic engagement was associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. This suggests that higher levels of civic engagement were associated with lower levels of psychological distress among nursing students. Strategies aimed at strengthening civic participation and community involvement may contribute to improved student mental health.