Latent mental health profiles among Chinese police cadets: cross-sectional associations with emotional intelligence, self-concept clarity, and career attitudes

Background Police education combines undergraduate development with preparation for public-safety work. This cross-sectional study described configurations of depressive symptoms and positive functioning, examined emotional intelligence and self-concept clarity as concurrent profile-membership covariates, and compared career attitudes across profiles. Methods In November 2025, 529 full-time cadets from two police colleges in China completed an online survey. Latent profile analysis used depressive symptoms, psychological flourishing, and social well-being as indicators. Emotional intelligence and self-concept clarity were entered as covariates with demographic characteristics and school using the Mplus three-step (R3STEP) procedure. Concurrent career calling and career commitment means were compared across profiles using the Bolck–Croon–Hagenaars (BCH) method. Results A five-profile solution was retained for primary interpretation, comprising Low-Flourishing–Elevated-Depression (C1; n = 94, 17.77%), Personally Flourishing–Socially Vulnerable (C2; n = 29, 5.48%), Flourishing (C3; n = 190, 35.92%), Average Mental Health (C4; n = 177, 33.46%), and Dual Vulnerability (C5; n = 39, 7.37%), while a better-fitting six-profile solution containing two small profiles was reported as a sensitivity analysis. In the five-profile analysis, emotional intelligence and self-concept clarity showed profile-specific adjusted associations, while calling and commitment were highest in Flourishing (C3) and lowest in Dual Vulnerability (C5). Conclusions The findings add a multidimensional, person-centred description of concurrent mental-health and career-attitude differences during police-academy training. They do not establish temporal order or causality, and the profiles are probabilistic, sample-dependent descriptions rather than diagnoses. They may inform aggregate planning of voluntary and confidential support but are not suitable for individual decisions.