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)