# Financial FOMO: How Fear of Missing Out Drives Trading and Problem Gambling Cite as: Gorak, R. (2026). Financial FOMO: How Fear of Missing Out Drives Trading and Problem Gambling. Tradicted. https://www.tradicted.com/research/song-fomo-2022/ Paper: Frank Song — *FOMO, Financial Trading, and Problem Gambling in College Students* Original: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/460c52c6-4ae6-4082-a2d4-30ae20bd8eb8/content Key finding: Higher financial FOMO (F-FOMO) scores were significantly associated with stock market trading participation among 285 college students (t(284) = 0.08136, p = 0.006732). --- Financial FOMO describes fear of missing out on trading gains, examined in Song's (2022) thesis FOMO, Financial Trading, and Problem Gambling in College Students. Stories of quick profits from meme-stock rallies and cryptocurrency surges illustrate the phenomenon behind this fear. Song (2022) surveyed 285 college students from September 2021–March 2022; F-FOMO predicted stock trading participation (t(284) = 0.08136, p = 0.006732). F-FOMO was also linked to problem gambling severity in traditional gambling, both for having any symptoms (t(284) = 0.07528, p = 0.013). ## What the Study Found Higher F-FOMO was associated with greater likelihood of stock market trading participation (t(284) = 0.08136, p = 0.006732). Higher F-FOMO was also associated with greater likelihood of cryptocurrency trading participation (t(284) = 0.08204, p = 0.03225). F-FOMO was linked to reporting a nonzero composite PGSI score in the traditional gambling domain (t(284) = 0.07528, p = 0.013). Among the 77 of 285 participants with positive PGSI scores, higher F-FOMO predicted greater score severity (t(76) = 0.04704, p = 0.007994). F-FOMO also cleared the zero hurdle for PGSI-ST scores among stock traders (t(76) = 0.18329, p = 0.0039). ## Methodology Song (2022) surveyed 285 college students (328 enrolled, 43 excluded for incomplete data) at a northwestern university. Data collection ran from September 2021 to March 2022. Trading participation was analyzed using binomial regression; problem gambling severity was analyzed using a hurdle model with zero-hurdle and truncated Poisson processes. Both models controlled for ABIS impulsivity score, sex assigned at birth, self-reported household wealth, and age. ## Key Statistics | Metric | Finding | Context | |---|---|---| | F-FOMO → stock trading participation | t(284) = 0.08136, p = 0.006732 | Binomial regression, hypothesis 1a | | F-FOMO → crypto trading participation | t(284) = 0.08204, p = 0.03225 | Binomial regression, hypothesis 1b | | F-FOMO → nonzero PGSI (traditional gambling) | t(284) = 0.07528, p = 0.013 | Hurdle model zero-hurdle process, hypothesis 2a | | F-FOMO → PGSI severity among positive scores | t(76) = 0.04704, p = 0.007994 | Hurdle model count process, n = 77 | | F-FOMO → nonzero PGSI-ST (stock trading) | t(76) = 0.18329, p = 0.0039 | Hurdle model zero-hurdle process, hypothesis 2b | | F-FOMO → nonzero PGSI-CT (crypto trading) | t(34) = -0.034454, p = 0.746 | Not significant, hypothesis 2c not supported | | Trading prevalence in sample | 27.0% stock, 12.3% crypto | Full sample, N = 285 | ## Why This Matters Financial FOMO appears to function like established risk factors for gambling disorder, suggesting speculative trading shares psychological mechanisms with traditional gambling. The weaker link between F-FOMO and problem gambling severity in trading domains compared to traditional gambling may reflect trading's perception as more skill-based than chance-based. For educators, clinicians, and platform designers, financial FOMO represents a measurable, modifiable target for problem gambling prevention efforts aimed at young adults. Because the study is cross-sectional and limited to a single university cohort, causal claims about FOMO driving trading behavior cannot yet be made. Fear of missing out is identifiable after the fact if you tagged the trade at the time. A [trading journal](/trading-journal/) carries a FOMO tag for exactly this. ## FAQ ### What percentage of college students in this study had tried stock market or cryptocurrency trading? 27.0% of the 285 college students surveyed had engaged in stock market trading and 12.3% had traded cryptocurrency. Song (2022) linked both to higher financial FOMO scores, with stock trading showing the stronger statistical association (p = 0.007). Cryptocurrency trading participation was also significant (p = 0.032). ### What is financial FOMO (F-FOMO)? Four items adapted from the Fear of Missing Out Scale (Przybylski et al., 2013) make up F-FOMO, measuring fear of missing profitable investments. Song (2022) found F-FOMO predicted both trading participation and problem gambling severity among 285 college students, though not for cryptocurrency-specific gambling severity. ### Does financial FOMO predict problem gambling severity in cryptocurrency trading? F-FOMO showed no significant link to PGSI-CT scores in the cryptocurrency trading domain (t(34) = -0.034454, p = 0.746). Traditional gambling (p = 0.013) and stock trading (p = 0.004) domains showed significant links instead. The cryptocurrency trading domain had fewer participants with positive scores (n = 11). ### How large was the sample in this study of FOMO and trading behavior? 285 college students completed the full set of measures, out of 328 who originally enrolled between September 2021 and March 2022. Song (2022) noted the small subsample for cryptocurrency-specific problem gambling scores (n = 11) as a limitation on statistical power. ## Source Song, F. (2022). FOMO, Financial Trading, and Problem Gambling in College Students. University of Washington (Master's thesis). [Read the full paper →](https://digital.lib.washington.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/460c52c6-4ae6-4082-a2d4-30ae20bd8eb8/content)