Do You Think That Money Can Buy Happiness? A Review of the Role of Mood, Materialism, Self, and Cognitions in Compulsive Buying

Muster von problematischem Kaufverhalten unter Studierenden und deren Unterschiede in Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen, materieller Werteorientierung, psychischer Belastung und Produktpräferenz

Ziel der Studie ist, zu einem differenzierten Verständnis von Kaufsucht beizutragen, indem untersucht wird, inwieweit problematisches Kaufverhalten als mehrdimensionales Konstrukt zu verstehen ist. Um Fachkräfte in Prävention und Unterstützung von Betroffenen zu sensibilisieren, werden verschiedene Personengruppen mit problematischem Kaufverhalten voneinander abgegrenzt.

Methodik Es wurden N=258 Studierende zu Kaufverhalten und Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen, materieller Werteorientierung, psychischer Belastung sowie Produktpräferenzen befragt. Die Dimensionalität des problematischen Kaufverhaltens wurde faktorenanalytisch geprüft und bildet die Grundlage für nachgeschaltete Cluster- und Diskriminanz- sowie Varianzanalysen zur Differenzierung verschiedener Personengruppen mit problematischem Kaufverhalten.

Ergebnisse Problematisches Kaufverhalten setzt sich aus fehlender Bedarfsorientierung, impulsiv-reaktivem Verhalten und selbstregulatorisch-reflektierter Tendenz zusammen. Es zeigten sich die zwei Subtypen Status- sowie Selbstregulationskonsumierende, die sich im Ausmaß ihrer Somatisierung unterscheiden. Auffällig Konsumierende hatten im Vergleich zu Personen mit unauffälligem Kaufverhalten eine höhere materielle Werteorientierung und einen höheren Neurotizismuswert. Verglichen mit gewöhnlichen Konsumierenden waren Selbstregulationskonsumierende weniger offen und verträglich, stärker psychisch belastet und hatten mehr Produktpräferenzen.

Schlussfolgerung Problematisches Kaufverhalten sollte zukünftig in Bezug auf fehlende Bedarfsorientierung, impulsiv-reaktives Verhalten und selbstregulatorisch-reflektierte Tendenz differenzierter klassifiziert und diagnostiziert werden. Neurotizismus, materielle Werteorientierung sowie zugrundeliegende Kaufmotive, wie die Aufwertung von Status und Identität oder die Regulation von aversiven Emotionen, könnten eine bedeutende Rolle in Prävention und Behandlung von problematischem Kaufverhalten spielen.

Precedents of the compulsive use of a credit card: an analysis of university students' buying behavior

Purpose

This study aims to identify the precedents of compulsively using a credit card, analyzing the influence of the following factors: power–prestige, anxiety, distrust and materialism.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection was performed by the survey method, while the structural equation modeling technique was used for data analysis, adopting the confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis.

Findings

The impact that anxiety has on compulsive use of credit cards was confirmed. Furthermore, the influence of materialism present in an individual on the compulsive use of a credit card was also proven.

Research limitations/implications

As a limitation, the power–prestige construction did not obtain satisfactory average variance extracted in the modeling. Other limitations can be pointed out; for instance, it was a sample composed of university students and with geographic restrictions.

Practical implications

This study highlights the importance of promoting public policies oriented toward the conscious use of credit cards. Interference in the approach of financial institutions aimed at attracting new clients in universities is also necessary.

Social implications

This study aggregates information about the buying behavior of university students, how the precedents affect credit card use behavior and the harmful effects of compulsive use of credit cards.

Originality/value

The originality of this study is in offering a new approach to credit cards by analyzing their usage behavior, more specifically, the compulsive use of credit cards.

Problematic Shopping Behavior: An Item Response Theory Examination of the Seven-Item Bergen Shopping Addiction Scale

There has been an increasing amount of research examining problematic shopping behavior (PSB), often referred to in the psychological literature as "compulsive buying" or "shopping addiction." A popular scale for assessing the risk of PSB is the seven-item Bergen Shopping Addiction Scale (BSAS). To expand our knowledge of the psychometric properties of this instrument, the present study employed Item Response Theory (IRT) and differential item functioning analyses (DIF) while concurrently attempting to determine a preliminary cut-off point. A relatively large community sample completed the BSAS online (N = 968, M age = 29.5 years, SD age = 9.36, 32.5% women). IRT analyses showed differences regarding the BSAS items' discrimination, difficulty, and precision, with a raw score exceeding 23 (out of 28) indicating a higher risk of shopping addiction. Finally, while most BSAS items operated equally among males and females, Item 2 (mood modification) required a higher level of shopping addiction behaviors to be endorsed by males. The BSAS functions as a reliable assessment of the risk of shopping addiction, particularly between average and high levels of the trait. Clinical implications are discussed in light of these findings.

The Relationship of Shopping-Related Decisions with Materialistic Values Endorsement, Compulsive Buying-Shopping Disorder Symptoms and Everyday Moral Decision Making

BACKGROUND

Compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD) is associated with high materialistic values endorsement and excessive purchasing of consumer goods. A subgroup of individuals with CBSD engage in socially unacceptable behaviors to continue shopping despite negative consequences. This investigation aimed at exploring possible links between ego-oriented shopping-related decisions, materialism, symptoms of CBSD and close-to-everyday moral decision making.

METHODS

In study 1, patients with CBSD were interviewed to develop a list of conflict situations, capturing typical shopping-related dilemmas. In study 2, the shopping-related dilemmas from study 1, standardized close-to-everyday moral dilemmas, the Material Values Scale and Pathological Buying Screener were administered to a web-based convenience sample (n = 274).

RESULTS

The main effects of a moderated hierarchical regression analysis revealed an association of more ego-oriented shopping-related decisions with both higher materialistic values endorsement and more CBSD symptoms, but not with everyday moral decision-making. However, a more egoistic everyday moral decision making style moderated the effect of CBSD symptoms on ego-oriented shopping related decisions.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that a more egoistic everyday moral decision making style is not directly linked to domain-specific shopping-related decision making but strengthens the link between symptoms of CBSD and ego-oriented shopping-related decisions.

The prevalence and psychological relation of problem shopping: data from a large-scale sample from Turkey

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the present study was to comprehensively examine the measurement aspects, the prevalence, and the psychological correlates of problem shopping among a large-scale national sample of Turkish adults.

RESULT

Participants (N = 24,380, 50% men, M age = 31.79 years, age range = 18-81 years) completed a questionnaire that comprised the Shopping Addiction Risk Questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised. Results showed that 1.8% of the participants had probable shopping addiction. Being female, being younger, psychiatric distress, positive affect, negative affect, anxious attachment, and avoidant attachment were positive correlates of problem shopping.

CONCLUSION

The results of this large sample size study suggest that shopping addiction is not a rare condition in Turkey. Further research is needed to understand different motives that underlie the problematic shopping behavior in the young and female population in comparison to older and male populations. Preventive programs or any interventions for people with PSB needs to address regulation difficulties and development of healthy strategies to cope with psychiatric distress.

Proposed diagnostic criteria for compulsive buying-shopping disorder: A Delphi expert consensus study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Consensus in acknowledging compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD) as a distinct diagnosis has been lacking. Before research in this area can be advanced, it is necessary to establish diagnostic criteria in order to facilitate field trials.

METHODS

The study consisted of the following phases: (1) operationalization of a broad range of potential diagnostic criteria for CBSD, (2) two iterative rounds of data collection using the Delphi method, where consensus of potential diagnostic criteria for CBSD was reached by an international expert panel, and (3) interpretation of findings taking into account the degree of certainty amongst experts regarding their responses.

RESULTS

With respect to diagnostic criteria, there was clear expert consensus about inclusion of the persistent and recurrent experience of (a) intrusive and/or irresistible urges and/or impulses and/or cravings and/or preoccupations for buying/shopping; (b) diminished control over buying/shopping; (c) excessive purchasing of items without utilizing them for their intended purposes, (d) use of buying-shopping to regulate internal states; (e) negative consequences and impairment in important areas of functioning due to buying/shopping; (f) emotional and cognitive symptoms upon cessation of excessive buying/shopping; and (g) maintenance or escalation of dysfunctional buying/shopping behaviors despite negative consequences. Furthermore, support was found for a specifier related to the presence of excessive hoarding of purchased items.

CONCLUSIONS

The proposed diagnostic criteria can be used as the basis for the development of diagnostic interviews and measures of CBSD severity.

Associations of Buying-Shopping Disorder Symptoms with Identity Confusion, Materialism, and Socially Undesirable Personality Features in a Community Sample

INTRODUCTION

While identity problems and materialistic value endorsement have been described as predisposing factors for buying-shopping disorder (BSD) in the literature, little empirical data are available on the role of socially undesirable personality features that may contribute to financial misconduct and manipulative interpersonal behaviors in BSD. The dark triad of personality refers to such offensive yet non-pathological personality traits and has been applied to addictive behaviors in the past. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the "dark triad" dimensions Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy predict symptoms of BSD above and beyond identity confusion and materialism, or moderate the relationship between materialism and symptoms of BSD.

METHOD

The participants comprised a convenience sample (N = 272, 72.4% women) aged between 18 and 67 years. Assessment included standard questionnaires for BSD, identity problems, materialism, and the dark triad of personality.

RESULTS

Zero-order correlations indicate a weak association between BSD and the dark triad dimensions Machiavellianism and narcissism, but not psychopathy. Results of a moderated regression analysis with BSD symptoms as a dependent variable revealed significant main effects for materialism, female gender, and a significant "narcissism by materialism" effect, after accounting for identity confusion/synthesis and the single dark triad traits.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that individuals with BSD attempt to address their narcissistic deficits via materialistic possessions. This assumption warrants further investigation in a clinical sample.

Buying-shopping disorder, emotion dysregulation, coping and materialism: a comparative approach with gambling patients and young people and adolescents

OBJECTIVE

The comorbidity between gambling disorder (GD) and buying-shopping disorder (BSD) has led to explore the core features that could be interacting between them. The main aim of this study was to examine the differences in both conditions considering emotion dysregulation, coping and materialism, as well as the relationship between these variables and their interaction with age and sex.

METHODS

A community sample (n = 281 adolescents) and a sample of individuals with GD (n = 31) was compared. Both samples were split into a group with BSD and a group without it.

RESULTS

The prevalence of participants who met the criteria for BSD was higher in the GD sample than in the community sample; the GD sample also presented higher values in the psychological variables studied. In the community sample group, positive associations were found between BSD severity and materialism and emotion dysregulation levels. In the GD sample, BSD severity was higher for participants who reported higher levels in materialism and lower scores in coping strategies. Variables impacted BSD severity differently according to sex and age covariates.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the interaction of the variables could be useful to design prevention and treatment approaches addressed to specific groups of age and sex. KEY POINTS Buying-shopping disorder (BSD) has been compared in clinical and community samples. The clinical sample was constituted by Gambling disorder (GD) patients. The variables emotion dysregulation, coping and materialism have been considered. Variables impacted BSD severity differently according to sex and age covariates.

Online shopping in treatment-seeking patients with buying-shopping disorder

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

With e-commerce becoming an important shopping activity, it has been argued that traditional buying-shopping disorder (BSD) migrates to the online retail market resulting in BSD predominantly online. The aims of the current study were to investigate how many patients with BSD report symptoms of online BSD, and to determine whether symptoms of probable online BSD are related to sociodemographic variables, anxiety, depression, and a higher severity of general BSD.

METHOD

A post hoc analysis of pooled data collected within previous studies (n = 122 treatment-seeking patients with BSD; age Mdn = 42.50, range 20-68 years; 76% women) was conducted. Assessment included the short version of the Internet Addiction Test modified for online shopping sites (s-IATshop), the Pathological Buying Screener (PBS) as an instrument assessing BSD in general, regardless of the buying or shopping environment, and measures for anxiety and depression.

RESULTS

33.6% of the sample met the s-IAT threshold for probable online BSD. Higher s-IAT scores were related to lower age and to a higher severity of anxiety, depression and general BSD. A hierarchical regression analysis with general BSD (PBS score) as dependent variable and partnership status, symptoms of anxiety, depression and online BSD (s-IAT-shop) as predictors indicated a significant positive association of probable online BSD with the severity of general BSD above and beyond anxiety and depression.

CONCLUSION

The findings may encourage future studies addressing phenomenological characteristics, underlying features, associated comorbidity, and clinical relevance of online BSD.

Buying-shopping disorder-is there enough evidence to support its inclusion in ICD-11?

The phenomenon of buying-shopping disorder (BSD) was described over 100 years ago. Definitions of BSD refer to extreme preoccupation with shopping and buying, to impulses to purchase that are experienced as irresistible, and to recurrent maladaptive buying excesses that lead to distress and impairments. Efforts to stop BSD episodes are unsuccessful, despite the awareness of repeated break-downs in self-regulation, experiences of post-purchase guilt and regret, comorbid psychiatric disorders, reduced quality of life, familial discord, work impairment, financial problems, and other negative consequences. A recent meta-analysis indicated an estimated point prevalence of BSD of 5%. In this narrative review, the authors offer a perspective to consider BSD as a mental health condition and to classify this disorder as a behavioral addiction, based on both research data and on long-standing clinical experience.

Identity processes and clusters in individuals with and without pathological buying

The present study investigated the association between pathological buying (PB) and identity processes and clusters. Forty-one patients with PB and 41 gender/age-matched controls (73% females) filled out the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS), the Pathological Buying Screener, and self-report questionnaires to assess comorbid psychopathology, such as depressive symptoms, pathological internet shopping, and hoarding (excluding acquisition). Patients with PB reported significantly higher scores on ruminative exploration and lower scores on identity commitment processes compared to healthy controls. In the total sample, as well as in the PB sample, we identified four identity clusters: troubled diffusion, moratorium, foreclosure, and achievement, similar to Marcia's identity statuses. Patients with PB were overrepresented in the troubled diffusion cluster and less represented in the foreclosure and achievement clusters. Patients with PB in the troubled diffusion cluster scored significantly higher on PB, pathological internet shopping, hoarding, and depressive symptoms as compared to patients with PB in the other clusters. Based on these findings, we can conclude that patients with identity diffusion report more severe PB and related comorbid symptomatology. PB and related symptoms may be considered as coping strategies to deal with identity-related issues.