TY - JOUR T1 - Afraid of the stock market JF - Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting Y1 - 2019 A1 - Lim, Yuree A1 - Kim, Kyoung Tae KW - Decision making KW - Investing KW - Stocks AB - This study demonstrates the way investors psychological traits influence their financial behaviors in the stock market. Results from the Health and Retirement Study show that anxious individuals are reluctant to participate in the stock market and have a lower level of risky investments. Anxiety’s effect is more pronounced for less educated investors, implying that anxiety about the unknown stock market drives this effect. Analysis of individual traumatic experiences as instruments for the current anxiety level suggests a causal effect of anxiety on investment decisions. VL - 53 UR - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11156-018-0766-x JO - Rev Quant Finan Acc ER -