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1.
Behav Sci (Basel) ; 14(9)2024 Sep 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39336010

ABSTRACT

In financial markets, irrational behaviors such as hyperbolic discounting and panic selling are prevalent. However, their widespread empirical associations remain unexplored. Numerous behavioral theories discuss how cognitive biases exacerbate panic selling through the lens of immediate loss aversion, a phenomenon in which individuals exhibit impulsive decision-making tendencies due to an intense fear of financial loss during market upheaval. Despite the theoretical elucidation, empirical investigations of these dynamics are lacking. Using a robust dataset comprising 121,293 active investors sourced from a collaborative effort between Hiroshima University and Rakuten Securities Inc., this study used mean comparison tests and probit regression to analyze hyperbolic discounting's role in panic selling behavior on the global COVID-19 financial crisis. The findings reveal that hyperbolic discounting plays a central role in triggering investors' impulsive panic selling behavior, which is driven primarily by fear of potential losses. Other factors that influence panic selling behavior include age, male gender, low education level, financial literacy, household income, household assets, risk aversion, and overconfidence in financial knowledge. Our study explicates the need to address cognitive biases in financial decision making during market crises through strategies such as targeted financial education, regulatory interventions against market manipulation, and the provision of professional advice to investors.

2.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36078251

ABSTRACT

The influence of smartphone use on increased risk of feeling lonely has been recognized as a global public health concern. However, it is unclear whether this influence has changed during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, during which smartphones have become a particularly important means of communication due to health safety measures restricting personal interactions. We used Hiroshima University's online survey data collected from 18-28 February 2022, to assess the impact of smartphone use on loneliness in Japan. The final sample included 2630 participants aged over 20 years, with loneliness measured using the UCLA scale and smartphone use calculated as the duration of usage in minutes/day. Weighted logit regression analysis was used to examine the association between smartphone use and loneliness, with other demographic, socioeconomic, and psychological characteristics as explanatory variables. Contrary to conventional evidence, our findings show that smartphone use mitigated the risk of loneliness during the pandemic. This was especially true among females under 65 years old. We found that age, subjective health status, future anxiety, and depression impacted this relationship. The findings of this study can help guide policymaking by showing the importance of providing adequate digital platforms to manage loneliness and mental health during times of isolation.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Loneliness , Adult , Aged , COVID-19/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Japan/epidemiology , Loneliness/psychology , Pandemics , Smartphone
3.
BMC Public Health ; 22(1): 1704, 2022 09 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36076219

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: General health check-ups are an important element of healthcare, as they are designed to detect diseases, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality. Recent studies have found that financial literacy promotes preventive healthcare usage and reduces risky health behaviors such as smoking, lack of exercise, and gambling. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that financial literacy, as a rational decision-making tool, is positively associated with health check-up behavior in Japan. METHODS: We extracted data on financial literacy, the main explanatory variable of this study, from the 2010 wave of the Preference Parameter Study (PPS) of Osaka University. Data on health check-up behavior as a dependent variable, along with control variables, were obtained from the 2011 PPS wave. Our sample focused on Japan's middle-aged working population (40-64 years), and we applied probit regressions to test our hypothesis. RESULTS: Our final sample size was 2,208 participants after merging the two datasets. Descriptive statistics show that respondents had moderate financial literacy (mean = 0.62, SD = 0.33), low financial education (mean = 0.17, SD = 0.38), and low participation (mean = 31.75%, SD = 46.56%) in the health check-up. The probit regression analysis showed that financial literacy is insignificantly associated with health check-up behavior in Japan (coefficient = -0.0229; 95% CI: -0.2011-0.1551; p-value = 0.801). However, demographic factors such as being male (coefficient = -0.2299; 95% CI: -0.3649--0.0950; p-value = 0.001), older (coefficient = 0.0280; 95% CI: 0.0188 - 0.0371; p-value = 0.000), and married (coefficient = 0.3217; 95% CI: 0.0728 - 0.5705; p-value = 0.011), as well as risky health behavior such as smoking (coefficient = -0.2784; 95% CI: -0.4262--0.1305; p-value = 0.000) are significantly related to health check-up behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that financial literacy insignificantly motivates people to behave rationally and understand the value of health check-ups as a tool for sustainable health.


Subject(s)
Health Literacy , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Health Behavior , Health Risk Behaviors , Humans , Japan , Male , Middle Aged , Preventive Health Services
4.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36141537

ABSTRACT

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing socioeconomic and health risk factors and added additional dimensions to the loneliness problem. Considering the temporal extension of COVID-19, which exposes people to various loneliness conditions, we examined the development of loneliness and changing risk factors based on age and gender. We used longitudinal data from Hiroshima University's nationwide survey in Japan, conducted before and during the pandemic, to categorize loneliness into three types: long-term (feeling of loneliness experienced both before and during the pandemic), post-pandemic (feeling of loneliness experienced throughout the whole pandemic period), and fresh (feeling of loneliness experienced only in the last year of the pandemic). Loneliness categorization is important because the prolonged existence of the COVID-19 pandemic has added additional dimensions to the loneliness problem, which existing studies rarely identify. As a result, the distinction between long-term and fresh loneliness remains unexplained. The weighted logit regression results revealed that many Japanese people have remained or became lonely during the pandemic and identified variations based on gender, age, and changes in socioeconomic and health characteristics. More precisely, almost 52% of the participants experienced long-term loneliness, while 8% of the participants experienced post-pandemic loneliness, and nearly 5% experienced fresh loneliness. Age and having children were associated with long-term loneliness; gender, age, leaving full-time employment, financial literacy, change in health status, and change in depression were associated with post-pandemic loneliness; and gender, having children, living in rural areas, change in household assets, financial literacy, changes in health status, and changes in depression were associated with fresh loneliness. These results indicated that long-term, post-pandemic, and fresh loneliness have distinct characteristics. The Japanese government should devise distinctive solutions for people suffering from varying loneliness before and during the pandemic rather than adopting a generalized approach.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Loneliness , COVID-19/epidemiology , Child , Humans , Japan/epidemiology , Longitudinal Studies , Pandemics
5.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35742292

ABSTRACT

The younger generation's hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine in Japan received significant attention during the early stages of vaccination. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive study in Japan that analyzes the apprehension towards the third dose of vaccine, commonly known as the booster dose, and its underlying causes. Using data from an online panel survey conducted by the Hiroshima Institute of Health Economics Research at Hiroshima University, we examined the severity of booster dose aversion among youths of different ages. Our findings indicate that a sizeable proportion of the Japanese population, particularly younger men, are hesitant to receive the booster dose. Furthermore, an inter-age group difference in booster dose aversion exists only among men. According to the probit regression results, subjective health status and future anxiety are associated with the booster vaccine hesitancy of men and women of various age groups. Moreover, few socioeconomic and behavioral factors like marital status, having children, household income and assets, and having a myopic view of the future, are also associated with the booster dose aversion among youths of certain ages. Given the diverse attitude of the younger generation, our findings suggest that public health authorities should develop effective communication strategies to reduce vaccine apprehension in the society.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Vaccines , Adolescent , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19 Vaccines , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Japan/epidemiology , Male , Patient Acceptance of Health Care , Vaccination
6.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35457329

ABSTRACT

Although Japan has a well-established cancer screening program and has implemented several initiatives to increase screening rates, levels of cancer screening can be further improved. Based on a rational decision-making framework, this study examines the role of financial literacy and financial education, which measure peoples' knowledge about investment and savings, respectively, in improving cancer screening rates in Japan. The main data were extracted from Osaka University's Preference Parameters Study for 2011. The dependent variable was the number of cancer screenings while the two main independent variables were financial literacy and financial education. Ordered probit regression models were run to test the association between financial literacy, financial education, and the number of cancer screenings. The results showed a positive relationship between financial education and cancer screening behavior in Japan, while no significant association was observed between financial literacy and screening behavior. Furthermore, according to findings stratified by three age groups, the positive association between financial education and cancer screening behavior was particularly evident in 50- to 59-year-olds, while the effects of other demographic, socioeconomic, and risky health behavior variables were not consistent. It is imperative that implementation of more financial education programs is an effective intervention to encourage cancer screening behavior in Japanese populations.


Subject(s)
Health Literacy , Neoplasms , Early Detection of Cancer , Educational Status , Humans , Japan , Literacy , Neoplasms/diagnosis
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