The effect of life stress on the public participation of rural youth in China

Youth are pivotal participants in public engagement. They use public participation to promote societal change and improve living conditions, thereby coping with life stress. Against the backdrop of rural-urban disparities in geography and socio-economic development, rural youth face limited access to information and narrower channels for public participation. Moreover, scholarly exploration of life stress among rural youth remains scant. To investigate how life stress among rural youth influences their public participation behavior, this study used data from the “Chinese Social Survey” for empirical analysis, with a total sample size of 1624 individuals and an average age of 27 years. The findings indicated that lower family stress encourages rural youth to engage in mutual cooperation and collective rights protection, while higher social stress promotes the more active expression of attitudes and participation in decision-making. To enhance the public participation of rural youth, and elevate their engagement levels, recommendations include focusing on managing life stress and promoting psychological well-being, strengthening social support networks for rural youth, initiating family education programs, devising differentiated economic support policies, and intensifying advocacy for rural youth rights and public affairs.