The credibility deficit of the government has been cited as a main symptom of the "habitual distrust" in Chinese society, according to a recent survey, in which more than 80 percent of respondents said society is "sub-healthy".

The survey, conducted by People’s Tribune, shows that 40.4 percent of the respondents believe that a crisis of credibility is sickening society. The "symptoms" are, in order, distrust in "whatever the government says", "distrust between people’, "doubt over food and medicine safety" and distrust in "doctors’ professional ethics".

A lack of faith is the most recognized problem in the survey. When asked to choose which group suffers the most from the symptom, more than half of the respondents chose government officials. In a report of the People’s tribute, the choice was referred to a recent case of the self-styled "qigong master" Wang Lin, who claimed to have supernatural powers. He has been put under the spotlight after his photos with many government officials and celebrities were published online last summer.

The superstition in officialdom mirrors corruption in the government, the report said. In terms of the reason behind the loss of faith, some 50 percent of netizens cited "unethical behaviors have gone unpunished", while 20.8 percent blame the "mercenary" market economy.

Extreme, violent and anti-social behaviors have been chosen by nearly one third of the netizens as another major illness of society, with the "disadvantaged groups" as the most obvious example. "The growing social inequality and feeling of deprivation" have been cited as the main causes.

The full list of responses of the survey

1 Lack of faith

2 "Bystander attitude"or being indifferent

3 Anxiety over work, life and future

4 Habitual distrust

5 Ostentatiousness

6 Reveling in scandals

7 Hedonism

8 Extreme, violent and anti-social behaviors

9 Addiction to the Internet

10 Masochism, complaints about the Party and state system