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A male student with glasses and boxing gloves hammered furiously on a manikin while shouting with anger. He was in one of Central South University’s new emotional release rooms. To reduce students’ stress level, some universities in China have set up “psychological catharsis” chambers, according to a report from the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The new facility in Central South University includes fully-enclosed catharsis chambers about 10 square meters (107 square feet) each. Two rubber manikins stand in the middle of the rooms, while walls on all four sides are covered with a layer of thick sponge material, the report said.

Escalating pressure from the sinking job market, complex social relations between students, and confusion about social phenomena have seen more and more Chinese college students suffer psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety.

A psychological evaluation performed on freshman at Central South University in 2008 shows hundreds of students suffering from psychological problems, according to a Xiaoxiang Morning News report.

To combat the problem, more and more universities are creating the catharsis chambers. The Harbin University of Commerce (HUC) has recently set up rooms to help students vent their stress. Inside the room, students can scream or write down all the things they have kept bottled up inside. If that is not enough, there is also a sandbag for students to punch for 10 minutes. Every day, there are students who come to purge their emotions and relieve stress using their own preferred methods, according to a report on the HUC Web site.

Such a move has raised concerns about increasingly violent behaviour, and some believe it is not solving the root of the problem. A number of social workers explicitly expressed that this type of violent outburst should not be encouraged. Catharsis is the emotional release of internal pressures felt by a troubled person.

One Internet blogger wrote that the psychological catharsis chamber is “the last resort” and “a rotten idea.”

Another wrote, “In this money-driven society, students from poor families carry a heavy load at very young age. No amount of emotional outburst could wipe the dark memories that have accumulated in their families over the years.”

Some students did show enthusiasm, however, and several said that using this method for emotional release calms their temper and relieves stress, according to the Xinhua report.

Universities are not the only education centers advocating catharsis chambers. In a 2006 notice on their Web site, the state-run Nanming Experimental Kindergarten in Guizhou Province wrote that its establishing a catharsis chamber “manifests esteem towards children and love for the humanities.”