Recently, Xin Ziqiang and his research
group of the Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China (RUC)
published an article entitled “Math Anxiety and Financial Anxiety Predicting
Individuals’ Financial Management Behavior” on Depression and Anxiety,
a psychological journal with 7.4 impact factor.
Abstract
Background. In managing finances,
people need to process various financial texts containing math (e.g., amount of
money and mathematical concepts) and financial information (e.g., funds and
bonds). Such information could trigger anxiety related to math and finance;
however, previous literature has rarely investigated the prediction role of
contextual anxiety on financial management behavior. Therefore, the current
study examined how math anxiety and financial anxiety are related to
individuals’ financial management behavior assessed by self-report and
objective observation, respectively. Methods. Study 1 investigated 186
employees with the math anxiety scale, financial anxiety scale, and financial
management behavior scale to explore how math anxiety and financial anxiety
predicted financial management behavior. Study 2 used a “choice/no choice”
paradigm to observe how the high (n = 50) and low (n = 53) financial anxiety
groups chose (or avoided) between a math task and a finance task (as a
measurement of financial avoidance). Results. Study 1 showed that financial
anxiety fully mediated the negative relationship between math anxiety and
financial management behavior and the mediating effect size was −0.24,
95% CI = ½−0:34,−0:16. And
compared to math anxiety (r = −0:24,
p < 0:01), financial anxiety (r = −0:45, p < 0:01) was a stronger
negative predictor of financial management behavior. Study 2 revealed that,
compared to people with low financial anxiety, those with high financial
anxiety were 2.75 times more likely to choose financial avoidance. Conclusions.
People’s financial management behavior can be predicted by financial anxiety
and math anxiety (especially the former), and the two types of anxiety seem to
derive more from an irrational self-perception rather than actual ability. So,
reducing financial anxiety and math anxiety should come first to motivate
people to manage finances.
For
more details, please refer to https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/3131631
