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Abstract Social theory for stress regards mental stress as a social phenomenon, and emphasizes the understanding and dealings with stress through the social system. In fact, mental stress reflects the function of the social system. The study aims at examining the status of the social system in a 16-year follow-up observation of mental stress among urban residents in three provincial capitals in China. The information that the study obtains from changes in the China social system will help decision-makers consider the solution and improvement of the social systemic problems.
Data were collected in three provinces’ capital cities, Taiyuan, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou, which are in different geographical areas in China. The surveys were conducted in 2001, 2008, and 2016 respectively. Participants were recruited through a multi-stage stratified sampling process. Mental stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (Chinese version) (CPSS). High mental stress (HMS) prevalence levels and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. All factors are adjusted for the city and demographic characteristics.
In 2001, 1,597 valid questionnaires were obtained, with an effective rate of 96.3%. In 2008, 1 345 valid questionnaires were obtained, with an effective rate of 92.8%. In 2016, 2,628 valid questionnaires were obtained, with an effective rate of 95.8%. The results show no statistically significant change in the status over the observation period. The adjusted HMS prevalence for the combined samples of urban male residents was 42.9 % (95%CI: 36.3%, 49.3%) in 2001, 43.7% (95%CI: 36.4%, 51.5%) in 2008, and 31.6% (95%CI: 25.1%, 38.1%) in 2016. This finding is not consistent with social and economic growth trends over the same period and deviates from the laws of social economics about mental stress, which may reflect the fact that many aspects of increasing mental stress have emerged in the social transition period. This study shows that currently more than one-third of urban male residents have high mental stress, which indicates the seriousness of mental problems among urban residents in China. The defects and imperfections in the current social system should be taken seriously.
Although there were no significant changes in the total trend of stress during the observation period, the social structure of stress changed. Significant differences were observed in the changes of stress among different social classes of people. HMS prevalence declined in some social strata while remaining high among the middle-aged, most educated, professional, and administrative staff. The current situation and changes in the pressure on middle-aged professionals do not conform to the law of the relationship between social and economic pressures, suggesting that there may be deviations in the past social policies for them. HMS prevalence also remained high among urban residents in Taiyuan but declined among counterparts in Hangzhou and Guangzhou. Socioeconomic theory and empirical researches have confirmed that the material and spiritual advantages of people’s socioeconomic status have the effect of reducing mental stress. The high mental stress of middle-aged professionals deviates from this association. This indicates that there may be flaws in the policies, confirming the fact that the situation in the real world is unavoidable and they face various stress and uncertainty. The prominent feature of a modern society is that the pace of the society is accelerated and social competition is fierce, which leads to increased mental problems in people’s survival. Middle-aged professionals are the main force of production in the modern society. They need to stand alone in a complex and changeable world and undertake heavy tasks, which put them in a state of severe stress.
This study reflects the pulse of social changes and accompanying issues during the past 16 years. In the long run, the continuous high stress among the population is likely to have a very adverse impact on the society. Mental stress is an inevitable phenomenon accompanied by the development of the modern society. If we do not take decisive measures to prevent a severe stress epidemic in society, the consequences for the society and the health of the population will be seriously adverse. We believe that “source governing” is the key to the problem. It is necessary to explore its social mechanism from the perspective of a social theory for stress, analyze the problems existing in the social system, and find out solutions to control over mental stress problems. It underscores the importance for decision-makers to pay attention to the problems existing in the social system and consider the design and implementation of targeted social system interventions. It is imperative to improve the current system, overcome social disadvantages, eliminate social inequality of mental stress, establish a fair social competition mechanism, and increase social well-being to reduce the stress on our residents.
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Published: 22 May 2023
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