最近的一项调查表明，60%的中国大学生感到孤单，80%的人认为自己是社会不公平制度的受害者。

A recent survey indicates that 60 percent of college students in China feel isolated, and 80 percent feel like they are victims of social injustice. Is the mental health of China's young people really on the wane? If so, how can this be rectified?

Let's follow our reporter Du Lijun to find out.

For Shi Guannan, a student of the Shanghai-based East China University of Political Sciences and Law, the high instances of isolation, autism and other psychological disorders among college students is not a surprise.

"Every year, our university has someone who takes their own life. The reasons for the suicides often sound ridiculous. I mean do you believe that someone would kill themselves just for losing two Yuan or after failing a test? But that's what happens. Young people today deal with more pressure than ever before. The tough competition for jobs, the soaring house prices, I believe our psychological conditions will only get worse in the future. "

Shi Guannan's feeling is backed by a recent survey by the China Population Communication Center. The survey, which polled 133 students in Beijing through face-to-face interviews last year, showed that nearly half of the interviewees said that they lacked a sense of security in social interactions, half were not content with their lives, two out of 10 felt trapped in a state of emptiness and 60 percent felt lonely.

If not discovered and attended to properly, those psychological disorders may lead to serious consequences. Pan Quanhui, a 23-year-old student at the University of Hong Kong, committed suicide earlier this month because he could not get rid of the pimple on his face. Pei Meng, a 19-year-old student in Nanyang Normal University of Sichuan Province, jumped to her death from a building on January 15 this year due poor performance in her final exam. And the list goes on.

According to research by the China Youth and Children Research Association, 30 million youngsters below the age of 17 are suffering mental problems. It also indicated that anxiety disorders and depression among college students have been on the rise in recent years.

Why are today's young in China suffering such psychological disorders?

Tong Xiaojun is an associate professor of the social work school of Beijing-based China Youth University for Political Sciences. She shares her observation on campus.

"My students usually come to me and say that they don't know how to communicate with people. These students usually have low self-esteem, they feel isolated and excluded."

Tong Xiaojun says that through talking to teachers and counselors on campus, many of these mental disorders could be corrected, but what really worries her is that many other students would fail to find a way to vent their negative feelings.

She believes lack of communication skills is the major reason behind rising psychological problems and points a finger at unhealthy family environments.

"These young people are mostly the only child. They don't have siblings, so they have nowhere to practice interacting, communicating and compromising with people. All of the skills they need after they enter society. Another reason is that parents love children in an unconsciously wrong way, and so they spoil them and overprotect them. All of this hampers children's ability to work through difficulties, make their own decisions and be independent. Finally, some parents are too busy earning money so they don't have time to communicate or educate their children."

Family is where people start their life journey and parents are children's first role models. However, the Chinese family has been through dramatic changes in recent years. On the Chinese mainland, 34 percent of people under the age of 25 are the only child in their families. And, as migrant workers flow from the countryside to cities, there are now more than 58 million children left behind in the rural area. They will grow up with their parents absent for most of the time.

For solutions, the professor suggests China promotes parenting skills and build up community-level venues for children to play and grow together.

"First, at the national level, we need to build a family education system that provides services specifically to meet the needs of parents. An important part of the system is to provide parental skill training. Secondly, at the community level, we should build a children's center. It should be a space for children to go to play and to learn, to get along with each other, communicate with each other and face challenges."

People from all walks of life have contributed ideas to tackle the psychological issues of young people. For instance, in the just concluded session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's advisory body, some members suggested promoting Character Education in the country as a way to help Chinese youngsters develop a healthy personality.

Shi Guannna, the junior college student, expresses her hopes.

"You know, all these things happen around me and sometimes I think that if my classmates could talk to people about their problems, to their folks or their friends, they wouldn't feel the need to commit suicide. And if people give each other more love and support, things would be different too."