China's youth are on edge and using warped attempts at humor in their text messages to each other. "Thanks for not killing me while we were at school," is one such text making the rounds. It references to two murders that took place in university dormitories this past April, both of which were student-on-student violence. The tragic incidents have sparked a wave of public concern about the psychological health of university students in China.

Supreme stress

On April 25, Huang Yang's parents received their son's autopsy report, which explained that he had died of acute liver failure caused by ingesting N-dimethyl nitrosamine, a toxin that had been added to the young man's drinking water. Lin Feng, Huang Yang's roommate, was later arrested as a suspect in the case. Despite saying little to police investigators, Lin mentioned a recent quarrel between him and the deceased over water cooler expenses, which police believe may have motivated Lin to poison his roommate.  

A day after Huang's death, a student in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, was killed by his roommate for taking too long to answer the door.

Experts believe some students have psychological problems resulting from the change, in their living environments.

Students living in a typical dormitory on a Chinese university campus share a room with three other students, who usually come from different parts of the country and have different economic backgrounds. Sharing a room with other students presents a challenge to many young people in China who grew up as only children, and are not used to having to negotiate compromises with peers. According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, around 20 percent of university students suffer from psychological problems relating to their studies, employment or interpersonal relationships.

This issue was also reflected in the results of a survey conducted by Wuhan Yangtze Business University, which revealed that only 43 percent of college students consider their relationship with their roommates to be "normal." This indicates that more than half of Chinese university students have problems getting along with their peers.

In addition to interpersonal relationships, academic and job pressures are other major triggers for college students' psychological issues. This year alone, 7 million new graduates entered China's job market, a record number, and an increase of 190,000 over last year's graduating class.

"Nowadays, college students feel enormous pressure, especially the senior students," said Wang Xiaoxiao, a graduate student in Beijing. "No matter what you choose, to continue your education or to find a job, you will face fierce competition, particularly if you are a girl." Earlier in May, a postgraduate female student at one of China's top universities jumped to her death from a campus building.  

"These psychological problems are caused by stress," said Yang Zhiying, Director of the Psychological Counseling Center at Capital Normal University (CNU) in Beijing. "Chinese college students experience much more stress than students in Western countries."

However, levels of mental illness in universities appear to stable. Freshmen at Beijing's universities are all required to undergo a written psychological evaluation. The results from recent years show no apparent rise in the prevalence of psychological problems among students. Yang suggested that the issue now seems to be a bigger problem than in the past because of an increase in media coverage. Although true mental illness is rare among college students, according to Yang, "many students feel psychologically disturbed."  

"This generation has a weak capacity for dealing with stress and adversity since they have little or no experience managing serious frustrations either at home or in school," said Yang. "Our education overemphasizes intellectual development and acquiring knowledge, but neglects a student's psychological and personal development."