Depressive symptoms and interpersonal pleasure in Chinese young adults: a person-centered study with follow-up and independent validation

Depressive symptoms and reduced interpersonal pleasure often co-occur, but their association may conceal different experiences at the individual level. We examined how these two constructs co-occur in Chinese young adults, whether the resulting profiles differ in anxiety and interpersonal need distress, and whether baseline profiles relate to subsequent changes in depressive symptoms and interpersonal pleasure. Item-level latent profile analysis was conducted using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS) in 711 Chinese young adults (mean age 21.12 years, SD 3.12; 61.3% women). Profiles were compared on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ) using Bolck–Croon–Hagenaars (BCH) tests. Three-step multinomial logistic regression (R3STEP) was used to examine the independent associations with profile membership, adjusting for age and sex. Among 161 participants reassessed approximately four months later, paired t tests were used to assess within-profile changes, and BCH models were used to compare PHQ-9 and ACIPS change scores between profiles. Structural correspondence was further examined in an independent sample of 418 participants. Three baseline profiles were identified: low symptoms–low pleasure (LL, 22.9%), low symptoms–high pleasure (LH, 60.3%) and high symptoms–moderate pleasure (HM, 16.7%). GAD-7 scores were highest in the HM group, whereas INQ scores increased from LH to LL to HM. In logistic regression analyses, INQ scores distinguished LL from LH, whereas INQ and GAD-7 scores distinguished HM from LH. At follow-up, HM showed a 4.27- point decline in PHQ-9 (Holm-adjusted p = 0.004), with a larger decline than both low-symptom profiles in age- and sex-adjusted BCH comparisons. Applying the fixed development model to the independent sample assigned 23.7% to LL, 71.3% to LH and 5.0% to HM. Observed item patterns under this fixed classification showed cross-sample correspondence (Tucker φ : LL 0.975, LH 0.957 and HM 0.941). Depressive symptoms and interpersonal pleasure were related but did not vary uniformly across individuals. A subgroup with elevated depressive symptoms but relatively preserved interpersonal pleasure showed higher anxiety yet significant symptom improvement over approximately four months. In contrast, a relatively stable subgroup with low depressive symptoms but a greater tendency toward social anhedonia showed greater interpersonal need distress. These findings highlight heterogeneity in how depressive symptoms and interpersonal pleasure co-occur and change over time, and suggest that preserved interpersonal pleasure may represent a resilience-related feature, whereas interpersonal-need difficulties may mark vulnerability associated with a greater tendency toward social anhedonia.