Hair Loss in Men - Psychological and Social Impact

Hong Kong SAR Department of Health described hair loss as Men's Most Painful. The Public Opinion Programme (POP) has conducted 3 studies in Hong Kong regarding the psychological and social impacts of Men Hair Loss.

Study 1 : The Psychological Effects of Hair Loss in Men

Date of Study : June 1999
4420 men with hair loss were recruited into the study.
Their ages were between 25 to 54. Their responses to questioning were as follows :

77.4% believed they look older than the actual age when without hair
48.6% believed that hair loss made them less attractive to the opposite sex
25.2% were consequently emotionally disturbed
25.0% lost self-confidence from hair loss
13.1% believed that hair loss had affect their employment opportunity

Study 2: Opinions of Single Female on Men with Hair Loss

Date of Study : Feb 2000
545 female were recruited into the study.
Their ages were between 18 to 40 and responses to questioning were as follows :

91.9% agreed that hair loss can affect the appearance of men
84.8% considered men with hair loss look older than their actual ages
80.9% considered the appearance of men an important consideration in their choosing of partners
67.6% believed that hair loss will reduce men's attractiveness
47.1% claimed that men with hair loss lack confidence
37.7% reported that they mind about hair loss when selecting their male partners

Study 3 : Opinions of Employers upon Job Applicants with Hair Loss

Date of Study : 2005
In order to understand how hair loss can affect job application, Pfizer (US) in 2005 appointed JobsDB.com and POP to conduct 2 studies in Hong Kong. The results confirmed that hair loss has a negative impact upon job applicants.
113 employer in Hong Kong were recruited in the study. Their response to questioning were as follows :

80% of employers agreed that applicants with hair loss look older
43% of employers indicated that they would not employ applicants with hair loss for frontline customer service
35% of employers expressed a negative opinion on applicants with hair loss
26% of employers indicated that they will not appoint applicants with hair loss to represent their companies as manager to attend important business meetings

Study 4 : Opinions of Job Applicants Regarding Hair Loss and Job Interview

Date of Study : 2005

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500 Hong Kong residents over the age of 25 were recruited in the study.
They all had a job interview within the last 3 years and concerned about their hair loss problem. Their response to questioning were as follows :

59% indicated that hair loss reduced their competitiveness;
56% believed hair loss adversely affected the first impression of the employers
47% believed that hair loss adversely affected their confidence during job interview
20% had given up the chance of job interview because of their hair loss

About POP

The Public Opinion Programme (POP) was established in June 1991 to collect and study public opinion on topics which could be of interest to academics, journalists, policy-makers, and the general public. At present the POP is under the Faculty of Social Sciences in the University of Hong Kong.

Address & Contact: University of Hong Kong - 5/F, Kennedy Town Centre, 23 Belcher's Rd, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong
Hotline: (852) 3921 2703
Website: http://hkupop.hku.hk/

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