{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T18:20:53Z","timestamp":1788459653757,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,5]],"date-time":"2026-06-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780617600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aims to identify different subgroups of alexithymia among vocational college nursing students, explore the critical values and core dimensions of these subgroups, and investigate the potential mechanisms influencing their experiences.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>By using the method of convenient sampling, a cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 1,103 vocational college nursing students from 10 universities across the country. Participants completed electronic questionnaires assessing demographics, Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-26), Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3) and Chen Internet Addiction Scale \u2013 Revised (CIAS-R). Data analysis was conducted using latent profile analysis (LPA), multiple logistic regression, and network analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Result<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) revealed three distinct alexithymia profiles among vocational nursing students: low (11.062%), moderate (72.801%), and high (16.138%). Multinomial logistic regression identified female gender and internet addiction as significant factors associated with a higher risk of alexithymia. Furthermore, network analysis delineated the central symptoms for each subgroup: Difficulty identifying feelings emerged as the core symptom in the moderate profile, whereas Lack of fantasy was identified as the central symptom in the high alexithymia profile.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Alexithymia among vocational nursing students is a heterogeneous construct comprising three distinct subtypes. Our findings clarify the key risk factors associated with these subtypes and identify central symptoms that characterize each subgroup. Importantly, given that internet addiction emerged as a significant modifiable risk factor, we recommend that nursing educators and mental health professionals prioritize interventions targeting problematic internet use. Such focused strategies are likely to indirectly enhance students\u2019 emotional awareness and expression, thereby alleviating alexithymic traits across subtypes. These results provide an empirical foundation for developing precise, subgroup-specific psychological support programs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1854583","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,5]],"date-time":"2026-06-05T10:50:46Z","timestamp":1780656646000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Alexithymia of nursing students in higher vocational college: application of latent profile analysis and network analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Jianhua","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Physical Education and Arts, Hunan University of Medicine","place":["Huaihua, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ge","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, Heze Medical College","place":["Heze, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yaxin","family":"Zeng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Breast Oncology Department, Affiliated Cancer Hospital and Institute of Guangzhou Medical University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manxin","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Nanjing Gaochun People\u2019s Hospital","place":["Nanjing, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/070674370004500203","article-title":"Recent developments in alexithymia theory and research","volume":"45","author":"Taylor","year":"2000","journal-title":"Can J 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