Negative Impact of Hair Loss in Men
Hong Kong SAR Department of Health had 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 : Psychological Effects - 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 - 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 men appearance 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 - 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 would not employ hair loss applicants 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 - Hair Loss & Job Interview
Date of Study : 2005
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. Since 2019 the POP was changed to Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute and no longer part of Hong Kong University.
Address & Contact: Units 9-11, 6/F, Tower B, Southmark, 11 Yip Hing Street, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong
Hotline: (852) 3844 3111
Website: https://www.pori.hk/
