Following Stock Market Linked to Poor Mental Health
Tue Jun 18, 5:37 PM ET
By Alan Mozes
story.news.yahoo.com
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If tracking the recent ups and downs of the stock market has left you pessimistic and depressed, you're probably not alone. Hong-Kong-based researchers have found that close daily monitoring of volatile financial affairs may not be good for your mental health.
Between June and September of 1998, Sau-Lai Lee and his colleagues from the University of Hong Kong conducted a daily Internet survey of 545 Hong Kong residents.
Changes in the psychological health of full-time, part-time and unemployed workers--as well as students, housewives and retirees--were lined up against changes in the financial health of the local stock market.
During this time the island's economy was mired in a deep recession, with residential property values having dropped over 40% in the year leading up to the survey, the report indicates.
Respondents were asked if either their life or standard of living was negatively or positively affected by the financial crisis, and whether they chose to monitor the market closely or avoid it altogether.
In the current issue of the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Lee and colleagues report that the psychological health of those surveyed was "clearly related" to changes in the stock market.
Men and women who felt hardest hit by the economic downturn also viewed their financial future as being out of their control--and had the poorest overall mental health. The investigators found that a negative perception of the economic climate was not related to a preference for following the market closely or ignoring it altogether.
Those determined to be in good mental health appeared to have a greater sense of control over their fiscal future, and vice versa. Both this group and those who remained optimistic about their prospects were also less likely to closely monitor the stock market.
Those who did choose to closely follow the stock market generally had the poorest mental health, the researchers note. This appeared to be particularly true for those who also felt they lacked control over their economic environment.
Lee's team concludes that individuals in any situation they feel they cannot control might do themselves a big psychological favor by stepping back from events rather than focusing on them too closely.
"The study is completely consistent with my understanding," commented Dr. James Gottfurcht, a member of the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC. Although not part of the study research team, Gottfurcht told Reuters Health that the findings appeared to mesh well with his experience as president of privately owned Psychology of Money Consultants, based in Los Angeles, California.
Gottfurcht said his experience helping consumers and entrepreneurs cope with the stress of stock market gyrations exemplifies the researchers' assessment that attitude is everything.
"If a market event is so negative, like a crash--or a question of bad health, like end-stage cancer--then dwelling on it is very likely to reinforce your negative thoughts," he said. "And that is going have a psychological and physiological effect.
"But if somebody is more upbeat--has more resiliency, more confidence--then they will be able to take in positive signs more readily," he added. "They will have more immunity to the negatives. The better that you think and feel you are going to do, then the more you can cope with. So in extreme negative situations--when you don't have control and it's stressful--not going there at all can be helpful."
SOURCE: Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 2002;21:116-128. |
