Family Resilience and Family Adaptation in Caregivers of Disabled Older Adults: A Latent Profile Analysis.

AIMS: This study aimed to identify latent profiles of family resilience among primary family caregivers of disabled older adults, investigate factors associated with these profiles, and examine their cross-sectional associations with family adaptation. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design with latent profile analysis. METHODS: We recruited 328 pairs of disabled older adults and their primary family caregivers from communities in Chengdu between April and November 2025. Data were collected on demographic and clinical characteristics, social support, family resilience, family adaptation, and disability level. To identify distinct family resilience profiles, latent profile analysis was employed. Factors associated with profile membership were then examined using multinomial logistic regression, and differences in family adaptation across profiles were tested with the BCH method. RESULTS: Three distinct family resilience profiles emerged: Stress-Dysfunctional (25.29%), Adaptive-Buffering (46.38%), and Integrative-Growth (28.34%). Profile membership was associated with urban residence, higher income, milder caregiving disability, and stronger social support. Furthermore, higher levels of family resilience were positively associated with better family adaptation. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that distinct family resilience profiles are significantly associated with family adaptation outcomes. Key factors such as urban residence, higher household income, caring for older adults with milder disability, and stronger social support play a crucial role in shaping these resilience profiles. IMPACT: These three resilience profiles may assist nurses in identifying families at varying risk levels and inform the development of tailored psychosocial interventions for families caring for disabled older adults, thereby improving family adaptation and reducing caregiver burden. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Disabled older adults and their primary family caregivers completed structured questionnaires as study subjects. They were not involved in study design, outcome measure selection, data analysis, or interpretation of findings.