Social inequality and the mental health of Chinese youth.

Yuanchao Wang, Yiqing Zhang, Yining Lan

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Yuanchao WangDepartment of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, Shandong, China. wangyuanchao@sdu.edu.cn.

Yiqing ZhangDepartment of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, Shandong, China.

Yining LanDepartment of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, Shandong, China.

Funding

Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Foundation, Ministry of Education 24YJC840035

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The mental health of young people serves as a social barometer, reflecting societal conditions. However, the relationship between social inequality and youth mental health remains a contested issue. This study uses data from the China General Social Survey (CGSS) 2021 and 2023, focusing on Chinese youth aged 18-30, to analyze the association between social inequality and their mental health, along with its group heterogeneity. This study reveals an overall inverted U-shaped pattern between social inequality and mental health of this demographic. Regarding group heterogeneity, an inverted U-shaped pattern is found among males and those with non-agricultural hukou; a positive association is found among youth within the system; and no significant association is found among females, youth with agricultural hukou and youth outside the system. The findings indicate that youth mental health is the outcome of the interplay between the "tunnel effect" and the "relative deprivation effect" and identify a potential a "system justification" effect among youth outside the system.

Indexed as

Mental HealthAdolescentChinaEast Asian PeopleFemaleHumansMaleSocioeconomic Disparities in HealthSocioeconomic FactorsYoung AdultGroup heterogeneityRelative deprivationSocial inequalityTunnel effectYouth mental health

Identifiers

PMID42323402

DOI10.1038/s41598-026-58041-9

PMCPMC13558550

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.