Analysis of the mental health status of the middle class in China

From the perspective of sociology, the sub-health problem of the middle class is mainly caused by social factors acting on individuals. From the perspective of the growth environment of the middle class, the characteristics of urban life are extremely profoundly reflected in the psychology of the middle class. From the perspective of the relationship between the middle class and other classes, social and self-identity crisis, interpersonal interaction barriers, and relative deprivation have negatively affected their mental health.

With the market transformation, the resource allocation method has undergone major changes, from the past non-competitive plan configuration to the competitive market allocation (Li Qiang, 2002). The change in the way of resource allocation has brought about a tremendous change in the structure of social strata. The stratum structure of "two classes and one class" has been broken, and the "intermediate class" has been declining, and the new middle class is still being formed. Many scholars hope that this new class will hope that they will eventually become the backbone of society and complete the transformation of the social class structure from "pyramid" to "olive". When we look at this group, we find that the middle class in China feels the tension and pressure caused by competition in its current status, and there is a general phenomenon of “position anxiety” (Zhang Wanli, 2004). White-collar workers who enter and exit the business building often suffer from fatigue, headache, lethargy, hair loss, loss of appetite, and blurred vision (New Weekly, 2004). Internet madness, mental illness, autism, paranoia and other mental illnesses also plague them. These physical and psychological discomforts are the reflection of "psychological sub-health". Why do Chinese middle class have such "sub-health" symptoms? This article believes that we should look for reasons from the social level.

I. Literature review

Foreign scholars have realized earlier that economic development has brought about more serious psychological problems while improving people's living standards. Fromm believes that the development of the capitalist economy has had different effects on different classes, but it has caused varying degrees of isolation and insecurity for each class (Guo Yongyu, 1999). Modern people are busy pursuing money, power, and honor. They think that they are pursuing happiness. Once they really get these things, they feel guilty and empty. This is a common problem of modern people (cited by Guo Yongyu, 1999). Modern culture is based on the principle of individual competition. Lonely individuals have to fight against other individuals in the same group and have to be above the suffering of others. The mutual competition between colleagues combined with potential hostility, fear, and decreasing self-esteem has psychologically led to the individual's feeling that he is lonely (Karen Heni, 2001).

Personal problems are not always caused by themselves (Vincent N. Parrillov, John Stimson, Ardgth Stimson, 2002). Social power can have an effect even on the most private and seemingly psychological decisions (Durgan, 1897). We are dominated by vast, macroscopic social movements beyond our control. Society creates everyday problems in many personal relationships and how we define and feel our own chaos (Vincent N. Parrillov, John Stimson, Ardgth Stimson, 2002).

Philip Simbaid found that even if experts mistakenly believe that loneliness and shame are personal problems, we only judge individuals and not judge social situations (Philip G. Zimbardon, 1997). For Tonys, society means a complex of all non-personal, abstract, and non-personal relationships (Robert Nisbet, 1997). When many people are busy admiring the era when freedom and wealth are coming, humanity will pay social and psychological costs (Fidynan Tonys, 1887). The Chicago School, influenced by Tonys, believes that modern urban life is inherently boring and pathogenic (Robet Maclver, 1962). Because a large number of people are gathered in the city, the background of people is diversified, and people with similar backgrounds are separated in different areas of the city. The relationship between people is superficial, anonymous, transitional, sophisticated and rational (Weisi , 1938). Although people live and work together, they lack emotional support. In this case, an atmosphere of competition, mutual exploitation, expansion of power and wealth is easy to form, and people become extremely lonely and nervous (Weisi, 1938). Leisure becomes emptiness, and because of the uneasiness that comes after it, people can only find escaping in illusory excitement and fantasy (Robet Maclver, 1962).

In the process of industrialization and urbanization, social individuals are increasingly alienated and weak. Karl Marx believes that in order to liberate themselves and exert their inner potential, people must take reasonable control over the natural environment and their lives. However, due to the needs of large-scale public and private bureaucracies, the dehumanization of the mass society, the domination of the workplace and the complex and interdependent world, individuals cannot control their own lives and the environment. The consequence is to create an alienation. The sense that the individual feels is a stranger in his or her own living environment, and the feeling that human beings have lost something that is vital to their lives (Andrew J. Weigert, 1981). Mills uses Marx's concept of alienation to describe the life of white-collar workers. They hate work, endlessly greedy and play, and this horrific way of alternating activities exhausts their energy. It may be because he simply does not know where he is going, his behavior is frantic and hastily; probably because he does not know what the threat is, his reaction to fear is numb (Mill Si, 1951). More and more white-collar jobs are just some desk jobs that lack challenges, meaninglessness, and boring, with limited creative opportunities or opportunities for advancement. When people around you do the same thing as you, when everyone is watching each other, it is difficult to get personal identity and a sense of accomplishment (Vincent N. Parrillov, John Stimson, Ardgth Stimson, 2002). A sense of identity and a sense of accomplishment are vital to the individual. Negative self-evaluation occurs when individuals realize that there is a gap between their behavior and certain behaviors they should do (Susan Shott, 1979). When an individual interprets the gestures of others, if they are negative and self-blaming to their own imagination, they will have a sense of shame. They show that the language is warm, fragmented, distracted, red-hearted, and speechless (Thomas Schelf , 1988). Turner believes that people have such needs: (1) correct their self-concepts... These five needs all create expectations of what will happen, and if these expectations are not fulfilled, they will send devastating emotions such as fear and anger. Then begin guilt, shame, depression, pain, and form a vicious circle (Jonathan H. Trner, 1994; 1996).

Merton believes that the separation between the different components of the social value structure and the separation between the goals stipulated by culture and the institutionalized legal means to achieve these goals are the cause of human misfortune (quoted from Li Qiang, Wang Jin, 2005). Anomie is often a consequence of the rapid changes in society, and it leads to a large-scale increase in the number, scale, and intensity of deviant behavior, and brings difficulties to the members of society in different degrees of psychological adaptation (Li Qiang, Wang Jin, 2005). .

Comparisons within and outside the group lead to different emotional responses. The comparison of members within a group produces a relative sense of deprivation or relative satisfaction, depending on whether the individual's income is better or worse than the person referring to, rather than depending on the relative subordination or relative superiority produced when compared with members outside the group. (Davis.JA1959). The definition of Gul's relative deprivation also involves comparison between groups. However, due to the two concepts of value expectation and value ability, Gul's comparison expands to the comparison between value expectation and value ability, which explains why self-interest Compared with other groups, when actually increased, it will also have a relative sense of deprivation; it can explain why relative deprivation is still generated when compared with other groups (Li Jun, 2004).

Second, the middle class's identity crisis leads to psychological sub-health

"Identity" includes two aspects of identity and uniqueness. Each social class is the unity of identity and uniqueness. Human beings are separated from the natural and animal worlds, possessing rationality and imagination, and possessing the ability to distinguish themselves from the world and others. The subjective feelings formed by them are called "the same feeling." The social class needs to acquire this feeling, recognize, accept and identify with itself (Guo Yongyu, 1999). Ethnicity, religion, class, occupation, etc. can provide a sense of self-identity for a certain social class. Without a sense of unity, people cannot find their place in the social ladder, leading to a crisis of identity.

(1) The crisis of social identity leads to the psychological disorder of the middle class

1. Measuring the objective standard of the middle class leads to the crisis of social identity

Whether the current Chinese society forms or exists in the middle class, and what proportion of the population can be classified as the middle class, the academic community has different estimates and judgments, and the definition of the "middle class" and the classification index are quite different ( Li Chunling, 2003). The new Marxist class theorists position the "middle class" based on class relations; the industrialization and post-industrial theorists divide the "middle class" according to occupation; the post-modernist and culturalist-oriented class theorists use cultural consumption characteristics and Subjective identification to classify the “middle class” (cited by Li Chunling, 2003). Combined with China's national conditions, Lu Xueyi believes that "middle class" is a comprehensive consideration of occupation, income, consumption, and education. (Lu Xueyi, 2002). Li Chunling believes that China's middle class should be divided into four aspects: occupation, income, consumption and lifestyle, and subjective consciousness (Li Chunling, 2003). Hu Jun believes that the middle class is far from being a strictly defined and well-known group. They are scattered in the complex combination of occupations, departments, cultures and other communities, even in economic and ideological terms. The whole (Hu Jun, 2004). Li Qiang also believes that China does not have a clear middle class at this stage (Li Qiang, 2002).

2. Difficulties in measuring indicators lead to the social identity crisis of the middle class

Although there is much debate about the measurement of the middle class in China, there is still some consensus on the concept of the middle class (Li Chunling, 2003). Determining whether a person belongs to the middle class can theoretically be measured in terms of education level, occupation, income, consumption and lifestyle, and subjective identity. However, in the process of operation, there are at least two difficulties. First, the privacy and concealment of personal information. Especially in the measurement of income, the existence of “gray income”, “black income” and “hidden non-monetary income” makes it difficult to accurately measure the actual income of the middle class. Second, Li Chunling and others found that in the 12 provinces survey conducted in 2003, the proportion of various middle classes determined by a single indicator was not too low, but when measured by comprehensive indicators, the proportion of the middle class was greatly reduced (Li Chunling, 2003) 2. At present, the differentiation of various dimensions of Chinese society has not yet been completely unified, and thus it is impossible to create a large group of people who are in the middle position in all dimensions and generate social identity.

(2) The lower self-identity leads to the psychological pressure of the middle class

Li Chunling once analyzed the status of middle class self-identification. In this analysis, the proportion of the upper middle and middle middle layers considered to belong to society is 46.8%, and the proportion of people who belong to the lower middle and lower levels of society in the city accounts for 23.2% and 20.8%, respectively (Li Chunling, 2003). Judging from this information, China's middle class is self-identified, which is caused by both objective and subjective reasons. Since the reform, China has experienced a serious division of interests. Some income surveys in recent years have proved that China’s high income has occupied a large proportion of total income. It not only invaded the low-income group, but also encroached on the middle-income layer. The share of 4. If the income of Chinese residents is made into a population pyramid, then China's total income structure is relatively small in the middle, but the middle and lower levels are relatively large, and the middle class has actually been pushed to the middle and lower levels (Li Peilin, Li Qiang, Sun Liping, 2004). .

In addition, over the past 20 years of China's reform and opening up, the overall living standards of the urban public have been upgraded as never before, and some people have entered the middle class (Shen Hui, 2004). However, most of the middle class did not compare their current life with their past lives, nor did they compare their own lives with the peasant life. Instead, they chose the wealthy class with most of the social wealth and the middle class of developed countries as the reference group. Looking up to those rich in the top of the pyramid, the middle class can only be self-defeating and classify themselves into the "middle and lower levels" of society. The choice of the wrong reference group has led to the irrationality of the middle class self-identification.

Third, the characteristics of urban life lead to the sub-health state of the middle class

Urban life has different effects on the mental state of different classes, and it has a great impact on the middle class. This is because the general development law of modern social structure is that the middle class rises in modern big industry and concentrates on urban communities with high demand for the tertiary industry (Zhang Wanli, 2004), and with the extension of urbanization and industrialization, to the city. The surrounding area is expanding. The middle class is born in the city, longer than the city, and the urban life characteristics are extremely impressed in the psychology of the middle class. At this stage, China's middle class is divided by different levels of development, mainly concentrated in large cities (Zhang Wanli, 2004), and this is precisely the most serious place of "urban disease."

(1) Urban life "non-personality" leads to psychological loneliness and loneliness of the middle class

1. The bureaucratic organization "non-personality" alienates people into tools

Modern organizations generally adopt Max Weber's bureaucracy, which is organized according to legal procedures and regulates member behavior by a complete set of laws and regulations. Within the organization, according to the status of the stipulation of the relationship between the command and obedience between members, there is only a relationship between the members and no one (Max Weber, 1911). Individuals living in an organization increasingly lose their self-identity, but exist as a part of the organization's operations. More and more white-collar jobs are just some desk jobs that lack challenges, meaninglessness, and boring, with limited creative opportunities or opportunities for advancement. When people around you do the same thing, everyone is looking at each other, it is difficult to get personal recognition and a sense of accomplishment (Vincent N. Parrillov, John Stimson, Ardgth Stimson, 2002). A sense of identity and sense of accomplishment is important for individuals in society. When individuals realize that there is a gap between their behavior and certain behaviors that should be done, negative self-evaluation occurs (Susan Shott, 1979).

2, urban life "non-personality" makes people isolated and isolated

Urban life is a strong stimulating environment that brings excessive psychological load to urban residents, especially the middle class. In order to adapt to this environment and maintain their social status and work advantages, the middle class has to change their psychology and personality, and have to rationally treat all kinds of people and things that come to them. They have to work hard to distinguish those important ones. Unimportant stimuli, do not pay attention to stimuli that are not important or involve personal interests, and concentrate on dealing with stimuli that are important or relevant to personal interests. This led them to gradually become old-fashioned or "treacherous and cold" personality (Zimmer, 1903). White-collar workers in cities often meet as highly differentiated characters, and the contact between them is superficial, short-lived, fragmented, and impersonal. This makes people prone to boredom, causing them to lose their ability to feel “more humane aspects” of others, and become insensitive or even indifferent between people (Xia Jianzhong, 2005).

(2) The “four highs” in urban life lead to psychological tension and anxiety in the middle class of the population

The “high population, high density, high heterogeneity, and high mobility” in the city bring psychological pressure to the middle class living in it. Since a large number of people are gathered in cities, the background of people becomes diversified, and people with similar backgrounds are separated in different areas of the city. The relationship between people is superficial, anonymous, transitional, sophisticated and rational ( Worth, 1938). Second, when a large number of people are concentrated on limited land, the degree of division of labor will increase, and the social composition will become very complicated. Although the physical distance between people is close, interpersonal relationships become alienated. That is to say, although people live and work together, they lack emotional support. In this case, an atmosphere of competition, mutual exploitation, expansion of power and wealth is easy to form, and people become extremely lonely and nervous (referred to from Gu Chaolin, 2002). Thirdly, the free movement of urban population and its social position can be continuously transformed, leading to the stratification and diversification of urban society (referred to from Gu Chaolin, 2002). People's needs will no longer be individually met, people are classified, in order to maintain In the social class structure, the middle class has to form their own unique living habits and consumption patterns, and these expenditures often make them feel tremendous pressure, forcing them to work harder to maintain the "barriers" of this class. Finally, China's current employment situation is grim. Although the middle class is temporarily in a favorable position in the social division of labor, it does not mean that everyone can occupy this position forever. The new labor force (especially after the expansion of enrollment in colleges and universities has increased a lot of high-quality laborers) has continuously flooded into the market, posing a threat to their social status. This threat will cause tremendous psychological pressure on the middle class. The main manifestation is the existing situation. Tension and uneasiness, worry and confusion about the future.

(3) “Anonymity” of urban life leads to psychological emptiness and indulgence of the middle class

In the interaction of daily life, different types of patterns will gradually emerge. These types will gradually move away from the face-to-face situation to the anonymous situation, that is, interaction, with the experience and degree of contact with them in life. The two sides did not have a deep understanding of each other, so they generated anonymity5. The relationship between people in urban society is superficial, anonymous, transitional, sophisticated and rational (Worth, 1938). The middle class especially emphasizes respect for personal privacy and has formed a set of private life behaviors in social life. And communication guidelines (Zhang Wanli, 2004). To a certain extent, anonymity is the most prominent feature of the middle class behavior. Personality is submerged in complex role-playing. No one can know the true face of others. Individual behavior is in an anonymous state without social binding. They will do many things that they did not dare, leading to behavioral and psychological indulgence. . In addition, the real emotions are not vented for a long time, and the emotional needs are not satisfied, which will lead to psychological emptiness and anxiety.

Fourth, interpersonal interaction barriers lead to the sub-health state of the middle class

(1) Subculture chaos leads to psychological isolation and confusion of the middle class

Subculture is an important soft force that maintains a class. Individuals living in a common culture often share common values ​​and behaviors and have a sense of belonging. China's middle class is born in the process of "double transformation" in society. The agricultural society, industrial society and knowledge society overlap in a time and space. The middle class values ​​are influenced by multiple divisions of social structure, showing three different social attributes (Zhang Wanli, 2004). . Traditional values ​​(being in the status quo, following the rules), modern values ​​(exploring and advancing, focusing on personal values) and "postmodernity" values ​​(personal experience, not subject to social norms) coexist (Zhang Wanli, 2004), a variety of different Or the opposite subculture coexists in the same time and space. Sellin believes that when a culture meets its heterogeneous culture, it is often prone to behavior that conflicts with heterogeneous norms. In order to maintain its system and develop its social functions, modern society has deepened its specialization in all fields. Especially the occupational distribution of the middle class is more diverse and heterogeneous than other classes. As a result, the various behaviors, norms, and behaviors that overlap each other permeate, interact, and fight each other, and the standards and values ​​of behavior are divided and chaotic.

(2) Social anomie leads to a middle class mental disorder and confusion

Social anomie refers to the general negation or serious destruction of the old social order, and gradually loses its binding force on members of society; the new social norms have not yet formed or are generally accepted, and do not have effective binding force on members of society. Social members are in chaotic, conflicting social norms (Li Qiang, Wang Jin, 2005). Anomie is often a consequence of social agglomeration and changes, which will bring difficulties to the members of society.

1. The loss of authority has caused the middle class to feel insecure.

The middle class emerged from the reform and opening up and grew along with the market transformation. In this process, the old authority has become increasingly weak, losing its original binding force and influence; the new authority has not been universally accepted. As a result, a certain degree of "authority vacuum" appeared (Li Qiang, Wang Jin, 2005). According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, when individual physiological needs are met, there is a need for security, that is, to avoid external dangers or any need that may jeopardize individual events (Li Qiang, Wang Jin, 2005). The middle class has no worries about food and clothing. It is a relatively beneficiary group in the process of market transformation. They hold a stable and conservative position in politics and ideology. The lack of authority makes their needs for security unsatisfied. If this kind of need is not satisfied for a long time, for those middle-class workers who are under great pressure and nervous, they are prone to difficulties in adaptation and have various psychological sub-health symptoms.

2, the role of anomie makes the middle class create a role tension

Role refers to a set of rights, obligations and behavior patterns that people are consistent with their specific social status and specific identity. It is the behavior expectation of people who have a certain social status and have a specific social status (Zheng Hangsheng, 2000). For a long time, people have become accustomed to playing the role of the old system (Li Qiang, Wang Jin, 2005), and the society has also formed behavior expectations for different classes. The middle class emerged as an emerging class after China's reform and opening up. The public expects a lot of differences in their roles, and their understanding of the role of this class is also diverse. For example, some middle-class people live in the same way as the American class, while some middle-class people refer to the same class in other developed countries. Due to different historical origins and cultural traditions, the role of the middle class is quite different. So, the Chinese middle class lacks a real understanding of the new role to be played, causing confusion. In addition, the public and the middle class are not expecting inconsistent role behaviors, and may cause some people to still measure the behavior of the emerging middle class according to the old role model (such as the old "intermediate class" role model), thinking that some of their behavior is not Understand (such as "monthly poor", "Dink" phenomenon). The "difficult dilemma" of the role anomie brings the role behavior of the middle class. If you can't get rid of this predicament, it will lead to strong anxiety and anxiety.

V. The negative impact of the "relative deprivation" on the psychological state of the middle class

The "relative deprivation" is a subjective reaction to dissatisfaction, resentment, anger, etc., which has a serious impact on mental health. The middle class's social status, economic income, professional prestige, and education level are all in the middle of society. As an emerging class, they are the relative beneficiaries of reform and opening up. Why is there a "relative deprivation"? From the existing research Most scholars define the relative deprivation mainly on the reference group, and believe that relative deprivation is produced in comparison with another group. However, this does not explain the relative deprivation when the self-interest is actually increased compared with other groups. It is even more difficult to explain the phenomenon of relative deprivation when the self-interest is not compared with any other group. Jun, 2004).

(1) "relative deprivation" brought about by value expectation

Value expectation 6 is the general value status that people think they should obtain. The value status refers to both the present and the future status. In general, people expect to maintain their current value position, and there are many expectations and requirements for the conditions that should be obtained in the future (Li Jun, 2004). The reference group is the main source of value expectation. In real life, the reason why individuals or groups have value expectation is because they are stimulated by the living conditions of another group (refer to Li Jun, 2004). China is in a period of social transformation. The middle class and other people are generally in a state of “disorderedness”. The groups that are constantly diverging and integrating are not only compared with groups whose status is similar, but also far from themselves. The group serves as a reference. The middle class is particularly affected by Western developed countries, and it is unique in terms of lifestyle. However, the Western cultural style is the first (Zhang Wanli, 2004). But China is a developing country after all. Although the middle class has an enviable life in the country, there is still a big gap compared with the middle class in the western developed countries. Compared with the upper class in the country, they are still far away. . It is precisely because of the generalization of the reference group in the transition period that the middle class is difficult to achieve the agreement between value expectation and value ability, so it is easy to produce relative deprivation.

(2) "relative deprivation" brought by value ability

Value ability is the general value status that people think they can acquire or retain. It has two meanings. At present, value proficiency is manifested by the status of value, that is, the position that people can actually obtain or be provided by their environment. In the future, value ability is their value potential, and can be divided into value potential in concept and value potential in reality. What determines people's current behavior is the value potential in the concept rather than the value potential in practice (referred to from Li Jun, 2004). The middle class generally has a good education and good human capital. They tend to expect higher expectations. People with strong self-awareness and a high sense of accomplishment are often not satisfied with their existing status, and efforts will seek opportunities for upward mobility. But this upward flow is not easy. First of all, with the expansion of the university, a large number of new and high-quality laborers flood into the market every year, threatening the existing status of the middle class. In addition, with the deepening of market reforms, the early stage of the “elite cycle” was quickly replaced by another stage of “elite regeneration” (Song Shige, 2004). The social class structure has a tendency to combine organizational elites, economic elites and cultural elites. The emergence of the overall elite, they have mastered most of the resources, people of other classes are difficult to enter the elite. The middle class feels that the existing status is threatened, and when the upward mobility is difficult, the relative deprivation is born.

(3) "relative deprivation" between the imbalance between efficiency and fairness

Most of the middle class comes from the working class and the peasant class. Although they have achieved a leap in identity, they are still inextricably linked with the working class and the peasant class (such as the middle class parents, brothers, sisters, friends may be workers). Class and peasant class). Their psychological state is bound to be influenced by the mainstream mood of the society. The formulation of “efficiency first and fairness” is the product of a certain historical stage of Chinese society, and it is increasingly showing its “immature” side with the advancement of the times (Wu Zhongmin, 2004). With the adjustment and upgrading of the industrial structure, various industries and departments have continuously streamlined personnel in order to enhance economic efficiency. There have been a large number of business personnel and “off-the-job” employees in Chinese society. Due to the lack of fair competition opportunities and imperfect distribution system, the gap between the rich and the poor in China is rapidly widening (Wu Zhongmin, 2004). Unreasonable income gaps, unequal educational opportunities, and disparity in political status will inevitably lead to a sense of relative deprivation. The middle class is also infected by this kind of emotion, and it has doubts about social justice and feels that it has been deprived.

in conclusion

American sociologist Mills believes that (CWMills), many individuals are troubled, only in the broader social field level, the personal life and social history are put together to understand, in order to get a true understanding ( Quoted from Li Qiang, Wang Jin, 2005). Since the psychological problems of the middle class are caused by social reasons, it is necessary to mobilize the power of the whole society to solve them.

First of all, we must have a clear understanding of the middle class, form appropriate role expectations, so that their social behavior has rules to follow, and they will not be psychologically nervous and confused because of the identification crisis and the loss of role. Secondly, it is necessary to coordinate the distribution of interests among various strata, adjust the pattern of interests, regulate the income gap between different strata, embody the principle of social justice, and reduce the "relative deprivation" of the middle class and other disadvantaged groups. Third, while improving the material civilization of the city, we must strengthen the building of spiritual civilization so that people in life can feel the humanistic care and no longer feel lonely and lonely. Finally, the middle class and other classes must re-recognize psychological problems. If they encounter psychological problems, they should not be ill, and should seek help from professionals in psychological work.