Time Quality of Life Profiles Among Psychiatric Outpatients: A Latent Profile Analysis

Background:Psychiatric outpatients often differ not only in symptom severity but also in how they organize and experience their daily lives. Time quality of life provides a valuable perspective for characterizing this heterogeneity. The present study aimed to identify latent profiles of time quality of life among psychiatric outpatients and to examine their associations with psychological outcomes and demographic characteristics.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted in January 2026 at a specialized psychiatric hospital in Hangzhou, China. Following data screening, 608 valid questionnaires were included in the analysis. Time quality of life was assessed using the Seven-Dimensional Time Quality of Life Scale (SDT-QoLS), encompassin sleep, physical activity, focused engagement, social connection, interaction with nature, present-moment awareness, and self-reflection. Latent profile analysis was performed using the seven standardized time dimensions as indicators. Well-being, general psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms were compared across the identified profiles. Differences in gender and age group were also examined.Results:A five-profile solution provided the best fit. The identified profiles were labeled Relatively High, Unbalanced, Impaired, Relatively Low, and Optimal. The profiles exhibited distinct patterns across the seven time dimensions. Significant differences were observed across profiles in well-being, general psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. The Optimal profile was associated with the highest well-being and the lowest levels of psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety, whereas the Impaired profile was associated with the poorest psychological outcomes. Gender did not differ significantly across profiles; however, significant differences were observed by age group did, with adults being more prevalent in the Optimal profile and adolescents being more prevalent in the Relatively Low profile.Conclusions:Time quality of life among psychiatric outpatients is heterogeneous and characterized by distinct latent profiles. These profiles are meaningfully associated with psychological health outcomes and may provide preliminary, exploratory evidence to support stratified assessment and future context-sensitive intervention research in psychiatric outpatient settings.