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Poll: Minors suffer from anxiety, depression
By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-05-25 22:27 A growing number of primary school students in
Beijing are suffering anxiety and depression, according to a survey by the
Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League of China.
Meanwhile, a programme targeting children enduring such mental health issues
and problems is under way.
According to officials, as many as 18 per cent primary school children from
Beijing were suffering mental problems in 2002, 10 per cent higher than two
decades ago.
Nationwide, some 16 per cent of elementary school students have tendencies
towards mental illnesses, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
What is more appalling, about 30 million Chinese teenagers under 17 suffer
various degrees of psychological problems, the Chinese Ministry of Health said
last month.
In the meantime, the programme aiming to help the capital's juveniles
overcome mental problems has been under way for about one year.
Launched by the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League of
China and three related departments, it involves lectures, parent and counselor
training, mental health education evaluations and a handful of other activities.
According to the committee, 25 lectures on how to educate children were
presented for some 8,500 parents over the past year, while 17 other lectures
were given by college student volunteers that attracted 7,000 middle school
attendees.
Zhang Hong, a committee official, told China Daily that the programme is
making its way to education establishments for migrant workers' children.
At the moment, there are 240,000 children staying with their parents seeking
employment in Beijing.
"Apart from granting financial support to these schools struggling in
metropolis," said Zhang, "we should care more about their students' mental
health, and that is what my committee is supposed to do."
With the International Children's Day just around the corner, Zhang's
committee is trying to bring this group of children into the grand
celebration.
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