Mental Health Classification and Quality of Life of Empty-nest Elderly in China: A Latent Profile Analysis

Abstract Background：Latent profile analysis was used to identify the profiles of empty-nest elderly’s mental health. Associations of the profiles with quality of life were then examined. Methods: Three hundred and fifty empty-nest elderly adults in China were investigated with Elderly Mental Health Questionnaire and the Chinese version of the SF-36. Latent profile analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: A three-profile mental health model provided the best fit to the data. The resulting profiles were low mental health, moderate mental health, and high mental health. There were significant differences in quality of life among different profiles of mental health.Conclusion: The results provide a new and expanded view of empty nesters’ mental health, which may be used to improve empty-nest elderly’s quality of life.