The General Association of Chinese Students of Macao (AECM), in conjunction with the University of Saint Joseph’s (USJ) Macau Observatory for Social Development, has conducted a survey on the factors that influence the mental health and daily lives of Macau’s middle-school students, the findings of which show that the respondents’ average weekly exercise time is only 4.97 hours, far below the standard of seven hours recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), while the average daily sleep time is 6.8 hours, which also falls short of the eight to 10 hours recommended by the World Sleep Society.
According to the findings, which were released yesterday during a press conference at the AECM headquarters in the Building of Macao Daily News on Avenida de Venceslau de Morais, support from school has the most significant impact on teenagers’ well-being.
The survey targeting local middle-school students was carried out between October and November, during which 1,185 valid questionnaires were collected, and the findings of which show that there is still room for improvement in local teenagers’ sense of well-being, psychological resilience and quality of life.
The survey also interviewed 19 of the respondents, and the findings show that about 70 percent indicated that they are willing to share their difficulties with others in order to alleviate their psychological burden, but when it comes to more intimate matters, they tend to deal with them privately or seek emotional support rather than rational advice.
Meanwhile, some respondents expressed their fear of being isolated by friends or not being able to integrate into a group, but at the same time, peer relationships are also an important resource for relieving stress.
The interviews also revealed that when facing stress, teenagers often create rituals or seek virtual spaces to heal themselves, such as writing blogs and making wishes by folding stars, reflecting the characteristics of Generation Z teenagers in interpersonal interactions and stress management.
During the press conference, an AECM representative recommended that the local community should strengthen the support role of families and schools, create more peer-to-peer programmes, help teenagers increase the amount of time spent on exercise and sleep, and introduce teenagers’ problem-orientated education and reflection sessions to create a healthier environment for young people to grow up in.
Representatives of the General Association of Chinese Students of Macao (AECM) and the University of Saint Joseph’s (USJ) Macau Observatory for Social Development present the findings of their recent survey on the factors that influence the mental health and daily lives of Macau’s middle-school students, during a press conference yesterday at the AECM headquarters in the Building of Macao Daily News on Avenida de Venceslau de Morais. – Photo courtesy of TDM
