A project researching major sources of stress for
people during the current period of social transformation,
organized by the Psychology Institute of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences, recently finished its analysis. It says that
people in their 20s are living with the heaviest psychological
pressures.
In August 2000, 46 informal discussions and a large
number of individual interviews were held with people working in
over 10 different occupations. A total of 1,408 questionnaires were
completed, detailing 8,545 kinds of stress. These were grouped
into?10 broad categories: social environment, work, personal
achievement, income, interpersonal relationships, social support,
family life, housing, children and personal life.
The?10 categories were then used as a basis to
survey 7,999 people nationwide between 2001 and 2004. They had
occupations in private business, medical care, education, farming,
public affairs and many other areas.
Pressures from people's social environment came
mainly from uncertainty and insecurity about economic change. Among
employees from state-owned enterprises, most were concerned about
social morals, security and stability.
With regard to people's careers, the major sources
of pressure were intensity of work, being in positions of
responsibility and competition with other employees. Reform of
economic and personnel systems has resulted in less security, while
labor and medical care disputes have also had an effect.
People feel more pressure to update their knowledge
and skills at work and increase their professional competence, most
conspicuously among those already with higher qualifications.
The survey also confirmed previous research in
finding physical and mental health worsening with higher, more
responsible positions.
For business managers, pressures from work and
family were both rated in first place, while economic pressure came
last. With heavy workloads and responsibilities, they also needed
to network socially, leaving them little time or energy for their
family lives.
Contrary to many people's expectations, those in
their 20s bore the heaviest pressures, scoring an average of 71
"pressure points" compared to 67, 66, and 68 respectively for those
in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
A related study found that people in their 20s were
exposed to more sources of stress because they faced fierce
competition at the start of their careers. This was at the same
time as dealing with many other pressures associated with getting
married, house buying, raising children and so on. Their relative
lack of experience also left them least well equipped to cope with
these pressures.
(Beijing Sci-tech Report, translated by Zhang Tingting
for China.org.cn, December 28, 2004)