Latent profiles of mental health literacy among community residents in Nanchang, China

doi:10.5498/wjp.124636

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World Journal of Psychiatry

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2220-3206

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

Observational Study

Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2026; 16(10): 124636
Published online Oct 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.124636

Latent profiles of mental health literacy among community residents in Nanchang, China

Shao-Ke Cao, Jun-Jian Xiao, Shao-Ping Xu, Wen-Xia Xie, Xue-Lin Chao, Qian Sun, Chuan-Jian Liu, Guo-Jiang Wu, Qiao-Sheng Liu, Xiao-Ping Wang, Wei Hao, Tao Luo

Shao-Ke Cao, Jun-Jian Xiao, Shao-Ping Xu, Wen-Xia Xie, Xue-Lin Chao, Qian Sun, Chuan-Jian Liu, Guo-Jiang Wu, Tao Luo, Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 310006, Jiangxi Province, China

Qiao-Sheng Liu, Department of Psychiatry, Jiangxi Mental Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330029, Jiangxi Province, China

Xiao-Ping Wang, Wei Hao, Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan Province, China

Author contributions: Cao SK and Luo T contributed in conceptualizing and designing the study, collecting, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting and revising the article, and ﬁnal approval of the version to be published; Xiao JJ, Xu SP, Xie WX, Chao XL, Sun Q, Liu CJ, Wu GJ, Liu QS contributed in collecting, analysis, and interpretation of data, and ﬁnal approval of the version to be published; Wang XP and Hao W contributed in designing and supervising the study.

AI contribution statement: No AI tool was used to generate research data, interpret results, or formulate conclusions. The author bears full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and completeness of the manuscript.

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 72264024.

Institutional review board statement: Informed consent was obtained from all participants. The procedures were carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was also attained from the local ethics committee (No. AF-SG-03-2.1-IIT).

Informed consent statement: All participants or their legally authorized representatives provided informed consent before inclusion in the study.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.

Data sharing statement: The de-identified dataset and statistical code used in this study are available from the corresponding author at luotao09@ncu.edu.cn upon reasonable request, subject to applicable ethical and data protection requirements.

Corresponding author: Tao Luo, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No. 17 Yongwaizheng Road, Nanchang 310006, Jiangxi Province, China. luotao09@ncu.edu.cn

Received: June 22, 2026
Revised: August 1, 2026
Accepted: August 28, 2026
Published online: October 19, 2026
Processing time: 112 Days and 16.7 Hours

Abstract

BACKGROUND

To examine the structural heterogeneity of mental health literacy (MHL) among community residents from a person-centered perspective and to provide empirical evidence for targeted community-based mental health interventions.

AIM

To identify latent profiles of MHL, characterize their features, and demographic predictors of profile membership among community residents in Nanchang.

METHODS

A multistage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to recruit 2467 permanent residents aged 18 years and older in Nanchang. The short-form National Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire was administered to assess nine subdimensions across the domains of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify distinct MHL profiles. Analysis of variance was performed to compare differences in depression, anxiety, insomnia, and problematic social media use across profiles. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to examine demographic predictors of profile membership.

RESULTS

The LPA revealed three profiles: The integrated high literacy group (56.02%), the literacy imbalanced group (21.44%), and the integrated low literacy group (22.54%). When the integrated high literacy group was used as the reference category, males [odds ratio (OR) = 2.125], individuals with a junior high school education or below (OR = 3.050-3.626), individuals with a monthly income of less than 3000 yuan (OR = 2.555), and individuals with unstable employment (OR = 3.640) were more likely to belong to the integrated low literacy group. Depression, anxiety, and insomnia levels were higher in both the integrated low literacy and literacy imbalanced groups than in the integrated high literacy group.

CONCLUSION

MHL exhibited significant structural heterogeneity among community residents. Mental health knowledge may represent a key component of the protective effects of MHL. Thus, mental health education should involve a more targeted and population-specific intervention model.

Keywords: Mental health literacy; Latent profile analysis; Depression; Anxiety; Insomnia; Social media use

Core Tip: Three mental health literacy profiles emerged among community residents: Integrated high literacy, integrated low literacy, and literacy imbalanced. Compared with the integrated high literacy group, the low and imbalanced literacy group exhibited more severe depression, anxiety, insomnia, and problematic social media use. Part-time workers, retirees, and individuals with low levels of education were at higher risk of belonging to the low or imbalanced literacy group.