To illustrate the general population of Beijing’s level of mental health, this study compared the SCL-90 scores of the general population in Beijing with the Chinese norm in 1986. The results showed that the overall distribution and severity of the SCL-90 factor scores for the general population in Beijing were basically similar. The average value was between 1.28 and 1.75, and no obvious peaks appeared. Among the top three factors were obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, and hostility. This shows that the scores of the various factors in the general population in Beijing were relatively close, and their mental health has remained stable. Factors such as depression, paranoia, interpersonal sensitivity, and hostility had more discrete scores, but none of them exceed three points, and they have not yet reached medium severity. The general level of mental health in the general population in Beijing is lower than the Chinese norm in 1986. Except for the paranoid factors, the scores of the factors were all higher than the Chinese norm in 1986 (t = 16.482, p < 0.01). The forcing factor scored the highest. Its main causes are factors such as fear, a lack of self-confidence, and anxiety caused by huge living stress [20]. Although Beijing has a good working environment and conditions [21], its fast-paced lifestyle and intense social competition pressure have affected the mental health of the general population [22]. The psychological health of the population in developed countries in Europe and the United States is often related to factors such as gender, race, family, economy, and education [23]. However, the characteristics of Chinese politics, culture, and region will determine the particularity of the construction of a mental health service model for the Chinese population.
Compared with the normal model of 1986, it was found that the general population in the 30–39-year-old and 50–60-year-old groups in Beijing scored higher in all factors than the 1986 age group. This shows that with the development of society, the mental health problems in this age group are becoming increasingly serious.
The analysis of the five demographic variables of gender, education, age, marital status, and monthly income in the general population of Beijing showed that monthly income (β=-0.027, p < 0.05) and gender (β=-0.026, p < 0.05) had significant effects on the SCL-90 score of the general population.
From the perspective of gender, the general mental health level of the female general population was better than that of the male general population (β=-0.026, p༜0.05). The male general population scored higher in interpersonal relationships, hostility, terror, paranoia, and psychotic factors than females (p༜0.05). This may be due to the fact that men need to assume more family responsibilities and obligations, which results in fewer opportunities for them to communicate with people compared to women. With the development of China's productive forces, the improvement of the social environment, and the improvement of people's basic life factors, the pressure on women's lives in the family has been greatly reduced, and their mental health has been effectively promoted [24]. The female general population had higher scores for the somatization, obsession, depression, and anxiety factors than men (p < 0.05). Due to the influences of women's own physiological factors and traditional cultural thinking, women will face greater and greater employment pressure and unfair competition in the face of fierce social competition. Faced with a social environment with a high elimination rate, women are prone to problems such as placing high demands on themselves, the pursuit of perfect work, inner irritability, decreased self-control, and repeated behaviors [21]. If long-term anxiety and depression cannot be properly channeled in time, they will cause a variety of psychological disorders [25]. The scores of women in factors such as anxiety and psychosis in 2018 were higher than those in 1986, which may be related to the more frequent social activities, the improvement of social status, and the increased social division of labor and social responsibilities in China in recent years [26].
From the perspective of income, the general low-income population was prone to psychological problems (β=-0.027, p༜0.05), which is consistent with the results of Zhang’s study [27]. The results of public opinion surveys conducted by the Beijing Institute of Social Psychology over the years show that income problems, price problems, medical problems, old-age problems, and housing problems are the main sources of life pressure for Beijing residents. These problems bring a greater sense of stress to most people, especially low-income people, so they are more prone to psychological problems. When income reaches a certain level, the individual's self-regulation space may be greater, and their self-assessed mental health level will become better with the increase in income.