Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have primarily examined overall resilience about coping strategies and demographics, overlooking individual heterogeneity. This study identifies distinct resilience profiles among nursing students, examines their associations with spiritual coping strategies, and determines demographic factors associated with these profiles. METHOD: A cross-sectional study of 1,223 nursing students was conducted using convenience sampling from May 13 to 24, 2024. Latent profile analysis identified resilience subgroups, while the Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars approach assessed how spiritual coping strategies varied across profiles. The Three-Step Approach for Auxiliary Variables evaluated demographic predictors. RESULT: Four resilience profiles emerged: low resilience-low strength (Profile 1), low resilience-balanced development (Profile 2), high resilience-balanced development (Profile 3), and high resilience-high tenacity (Profile 4). Positive spiritual coping strategies demonstrated progressively increasing mean scores, which were statistically significant from Profile 1 to 4. In negative spiritual coping strategies, the mean scores decreased progressively from Profile 1 to 3, with each decrease being statistically significant. Female students were likelier in Profiles 1 (β = -1.01, p < 0.05), 2 (β = -1.02, p < 0.001), and 3 (β = -0.73, p < 0.01) compared to Profile 4; Students with leadership experience were more often found in Profiles 3 (β = 0.66, p < 0.001) and 4 (β = 0.74, p < 0.01) compared to Profile 2, and students who live in urban areas were more likely to belong to Profile 4 than Profile 1 (β = 0.77, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There was notable individual heterogeneity in resilience among students, with distinct differences in the use of spiritual coping strategies across these profiles. Future educational interventions promoting positive spiritual coping strategies could consider resilience as a core element. The primary focus of future resilience research and education should be on female students living in rural areas and students without leadership experience during college. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.