NEARLY three-quarters of married Shenzhen residents need guidance in marriage and family relationships, a recent survey by the Shenzhen Women’s Federation (SWF) has revealed.

The survey polled 3,865 people, 90 percent of whom also said they need help in educating their children.

A high divorce rate, a growing number of impoverished single mothers, female migrants suffering domestic violence and children addicted to drugs and the Internet are the major issues blighting this young city and may harm its social stability, said He Xiaohua from the SWF on Thursday.

Shenzhen tops mainland cities in terms of its divorce rate, officials with the SWF said. Statistics from the civil affairs bureau revealed that two out of 1,000 married couples registered for divorce in 2005. In the first 10 months of last year, 4,883 couples separated.

In an extreme case, a young woman surnamed Xia married and divorced the same man three times in six months. As marriage and divorce no longer require notifications from employers, young people tend to be rash with regard to such serious decisions. Many young people, born in single-child families, are often intolerant toward their spouses, He said.

A vast difference in customs, values and beliefs among couples from different backgrounds and different parts of China is another reason that makes them unhappy.

Jiang Mei, from Sichuan Province, finally left her Cantonese husband after three years of marriage. “He never did housework and never listened to me after getting married. This may be tolerable for a Hakka girl, but it doesn’t work with me,” she said.