A latent profile analysis of psychosocial factors and trauma exposure in U.K. students and their association with mental health and academic persistence

Objective: The prevalence of previous trauma exposure among university students is widespread. Trauma can have a serious impact on students’ mental health, university experience, and academic persistence. This is the first study to use latent profile analysis to assess how differing levels of psychosocial variables combine with trauma exposure to draw together psychological profiles among university students.
Method: A total of 452 U.K. students completed a battery of questionnaires from a cross-sectional survey examining the number of traumatic events and psychosocial factors (loneliness, social support, self-efficacy, coping strategies, personality, and resilience) to determine mental health and academic persistence.
Results: A latent profiling analysis obtained a five-profile solution, demonstrating a unique combination of psychosocial factors and trauma exposure: distressed (11.2%), thriving (31.4%), vulnerable (19.5%), flourishing (3.5%), and diffident (34.4%). Analyses of variance were used to compare scores on the anxiety and depression measures and academic persistence measures between the participants within each profile. Significant differences among profiles were present with the distressed profile being more at risk for mental health and academic issues and the flourishing profile demonstrating high levels of trauma exposure and a positive academic experience.
Conclusions: Given that there is a large proportion of students in higher education reporting previous traumatic experiences, trauma-informed principles are warranted, with a focus on supporting staff to understand the impact of trauma on students’ experiences, in an inclusive and nonjudgmental way. This study provides a model of the factors involved in fostering psychological well-being and positive university experiences for students who have experienced trauma.