Current status and influencing factors of caring behaviors among nurses in tertiary psychiatric hospitals in China: a cross-sectional study based on latent profile analysis

Mental disorders represent a significant and growing global disease burden. Patients with mental disorders often require prolonged care in closed hospital environments, placing high demands on nurses’ caring behaviors. Although caring behaviors are central to nursing quality and nurse-patient relationships, research specifically targeting psychiatric nurses remains limited. Furthermore, most existing studies have used aggregate-level analytical approaches that may overlook heterogeneity in caring behaviors within this population. This study aimed to explore latent categories of caring behaviors among nurses in tertiary psychiatric hospitals in China and identify their influencing factors using latent profile analysis. This was a cross-sectional descriptive research design. A total of 473 psychiatric nurses participated in this study. Participants were recruited from 20 tertiary psychiatric hospitals across 6 provinces in China. Data collection was conducted between March and June 2025. A convenience sampling method was adopted. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Caring Behaviors Inventory the Chinese version of the Spiritual Climate Scale, and the Professional Identity Scale for Nurses. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was performed using Mplus (version 8.3) to identify distinct categories of caring behaviors among psychiatric nurses, and logistic regression analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 27.0) to examine the influencing factors. A total of 485 questionnaires were distributed, with 473 valid responses collected, yielding a 97.53% response rate. Psychiatric nurses’ caring behaviors were categorized into three groups: medium level - high support and guarantee group, high level lower - relative fluctuation group, high level - low respect and contact group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the number of night shifts worked, spiritual climate, and professional identity were significant factors influencing the latent profiles of psychiatric nurses’ caring behaviors ( P < 0.05). To our knowledge, limited research has applied latent profile analysis (LPA) to examine caring behaviors among nurses. This study identified three distinct latent profiles, revealing heterogeneity in nurses’ caring behaviors. The identified associated factors, including modifiable characteristics such as spiritual climate and professional identity, may inform the development of future targeted interventions. Not applicable.