Half of people with depression in China are students, why?

A student in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, is preparing to take the gaokao in June 2023. This is the most rigorous exam in the country of a billion people, and is said to determine the level of success in each person's career.

Family,education system cause students to be depressed

In China, nearly 25% of adolescents are reported to suffer from mild or severe depression. Meanwhile, at least 30 million children and adolescents under the age of 17 suffer from emotional or behavioral problems, according to statistics released by the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2020.

Two years later, the problem has yet to be “cured.” According to the 2022 Blue Book on Depression in China, about half of those suffering from depression in the country are students. And of those who suffer from depression, 41% have to drop out of school due to mental illness.

Responding to China Daily , Professor Qiao Zhihong, working at the Department of Psychology at Beijing Normal University, analyzed that there are three main factors affecting the mental health of Chinese teenagers, including the education system, the social environment, and the fading role of family members.

Specifically, the education system of the country of a billion people has ignored the personality of students when evaluating only by the standard of scores. Students are pushed to study and study harder but do not achieve any personal benefits. And when children lose joy in life and study due to pressure, they are very susceptible to mental health problems, Professor Hong commented.

According to Mr. Hong, single-parent families or families with absent parents can also cause children to have mental problems. "Not to mention, being affected by exam pressure, the distorted way of taking care of children by many parents also casts a shadow on their children's mental health. In general, parents should respect their children's feelings more instead of giving orders and putting pressure on them," Mr. Hong advised.

Chinese students attend a tutoring class in Beijing in 2021.

The internet is also a threat to children's mental health. "What happens remotely can affect our emotions and form negative thoughts about the world . These can be passed on to children or they can learn about it themselves," the psychologist shared, pointing out that the biggest challenge to mental health care in schools is the lack of professional teams.

China's move

Faced with the above-mentioned prominent data, the Chinese Ministry of Education on November 15 established a national advisory committee on student mental health with the task of advising and supporting the government in making decisions to enhance the ability to solve students' mental health problems, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Accordingly, this committee brings together the participation of universities, secondary schools, health agencies and hospitals. The members of the committee are responsible for research, consultation, monitoring, evaluation and dissemination of science on mental health work in universities, secondary schools and primary schools nationwide.

The Ministry of Education of China also informed that each region in the country must hold at least one major event each school year to assess the current situation of students in the region and accurately grasp the situation, development trends and issues related to their mental health. Findings and suggestions on students' mental health care work are also reported to the committee and relevant local governments.

Professor Qiao Zhihong, who is also secretary-general of the committee, recommended that resources from various sectors such as education, health and non-profit organizations be integrated to promote the development of adolescents' mental health. "All students at Beijing Normal University must study educational psychology to improve their ability to deal with mental health problems for their students," Hong added.

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