Poverty make college students have psychological problems
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-07-06 10:55
College students coming form low-income families in China are more likely to
carry psychological problems, a latest survey found.
The survey, released by China Youth Development Foundation, was based on its
recent research after polling 400 university students in Beijing whose families
had financial difficulties.
Nearly 70 percent of the impoverished students came from the countryside.
According to the survey, 60 percent of the polled students said they felt
"utterly shamed" for being poor, and 22.5 percent of them had very low
self-esteem, as they frequently considered themselves "inferior" to others.
"They were reluctant to let others know they were poor and refused to accept
even goodwill companion from their teachers and classmates," the survey said.
Observers say students from low-income families are just as likely to be the
pride of their family and the their communities. But in schools, they can feel
the additional pressure for their economic status among the peers, as they
probably cannot afford frequent hang-outs and many other activities.
The survey said 40 percent of students from low-income families were less
enthusiastic about ex-curriculum activities and 20 percent of them held "bias
and negative" opinions on the society.
In China, families have to pay at least 8,000 yuan (1,000 U.S. dollars) every
year to support a college student, which means the farmers have to spend years
of their income to support a college student.
And there are roughly 5 million college students need financial aids at
present, the survey estimated.
China introduced a pilot state education loan system in 1999, and by the end
of 2005, state loans had reached 2.068 million college students by issuing 17.27
billion yuan, official figures indicated.
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