Mental health specialists hold that parents are mainly held accountable for the worsening psychological health condition of Chinese children, as a recent survey has found one out of every eight children have psychological or behavioral problems.

The survey, conducted by Zhai Jing, a child psychologist based in the eastern Shandong Province, found that the number of school age children seeking medical intervention for varied psychological problems was on the rise in recent years.

Nationwide statistics show that there are approximately 30 million youngsters in China who suffer from mental handicaps. Most of the youngsters' problems were autism, particularly addiction to television or cyberspace, anxiety over schoolwork and exams, as well as perceptual handicaps and behavioral problems, said Zhai.

According to Zhai, the survey found 5.1 percent of the junior high students in Shandong Province are hostile and prone to attack others. "To our surprise, some well-behaved students at school turn out to be little 'barbarians' and often attack their parents at home," she said.

In fact, some of the straight A students were more vulnerable than the so-called "problematic kids" to psychological problems such as depression and inferiority complex, she said.

"I've received many young patients who complain of insomnia, diarrhea, fever and restlessness before exams and have to receive outpatient treatment," said Zhai, who also provides psychotherapy to minors at the Shandong provincial mental health care center. "Most of them are straight A students who work hard to meet their parents' expectations."

Improper parenting -- such as excessive care and intervention, indifference or corporal punishment -- was mainly to blame for these children's mental problems, some of which could be traced back to infancy, she said.

"Parents have a leading role to play in the children's psychological development and family education directly affects a child's overall capacity -- including his communicative, cognitive and perceptual capacity," she said.

The parent-child relations in quite a few families needs improvement, according to Yang Jingxian, a primary school principle in the provincial capital Jinan.

"Many parents are busy with their work and have little time to spend with their children," she said. "They need to play and communicate more with the children to enhance mutual understanding and meet the kids' need for love and attention."

In most of the country's one-child urban families, parents seldom hesitate to spend large sums to ensure their children get the best food, clothing and education.

"But a caring and loving home environment is equally important for our children's overall development," said Yang. "Parents should bow to look their children in the eye and treat them as equals to help them shape a healthy personality."

A healthy personality, along with average intelligence and adaptability to the changing environment, makes a mentally healthy citizen, health experts say.

"Parents, therefore, should teach their children to shoulder responsibility, solve problems independently and cooperate with others instead of relying on their elders," said Zhai. "It's also crucial to teach the kids how to avoid conflicts, solve disputes in a proper way, appreciate and learn from other people."

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2004)