Estíbaliz Villardefrancos

Prevalence, sociodemographic factors, psychological distress, and coping strategies related to compulsive buying: a cross sectional study in Galicia, Spain

BackgroundCompulsive buying has become a serious problem affecting a growing number of people in contemporary consumer societies. Nevertheless, research examining its prevalence in representative samples from the general population is still scarce and mainly focused on the exploration of sociodemographic factors, neglecting other aspects like psychological distress and coping styles. Therefore, this study intends to contribute to the cumulative knowledge by assessing compulsive buying prevalence in a representative sample from the general population in the region of Galicia, in Spain. Sociodemographic determinants, psychological symptoms, and coping strategies are also analyzed to clarify their role in this phenomenon.MethodsA random routes procedure was employed in the recruitment of the sample which was comprised of 2159 participants who were classified as either compulsive buyers or non-compulsive buyers. Both groups were compared regarding sociodemographic determinants, symptoms, and coping strategies through chi-square tests or analyses of variance. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine which of these determinants might play a part in the make up of a risk profile for compulsive buying.ResultsEstimated prevalence of compulsive buying was 7.1%. Compulsive buyers and non-compulsive buyers differed significantly in sex and age, with women and younger people showing a higher propensity for this phenomenon. Individuals with compulsive buying presented significantly higher scores on all the psychological symptoms considered. They also employed passive-avoidance coping strategies much more frequently and active strategies of problem solving and cognitive restructuring much less frequently. The logistic regression analysis results confirmed that being female, experiencing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and obsession-compulsion, and employing the passive-avoidance coping strategies of problem avoidance, wishful thinking, and self-criticism, all constituted risk factors for compulsive buying, whilst the increased age and the use of the active coping strategies of problem solving and cognitive restructuring were protection factors.ConclusionsOur findings revealed a substantial prevalence of compulsive buying. Additionally, the relevance of sociodemographic determinants, psychological distress, and coping strategies in this problem was confirmed. The establishment of a risk profile for compulsive buying based on these different sets of determinants would likely contribute to the development of more effective intervention programs.

Materialism and Addictive Buying in Women: The Mediating Role of Anxiety and Depression:

There is empirical evidence regarding the interrelationships between materialism, negative emotions, and addictive buying. The aim of this study was to clarify the direction of the relationships among these variables. Specifically, the main objective was to explore the possible mediating roles of anxiety and depression in the link between materialism and addictive buying. Path analysis results, using a sample of 685 women, generally supported the suitability of the proposed model in which anxiety and depression mediated the effects of the materialism dimensions, “importance” and “success,” on addictive buying, and that depression also mediates the influence of the “importance” and “happiness” dimensions. Moreover, a direct effect of the importance dimension on addictive buying was found.

Compulsive buying in university students: its prevalence and relationships with materialism, psychological distress symptoms, and subjective well-being

BACKGROUND Compulsive buying has become a severe problem among young people. The prominent role that psychological variables play in this phenomenon support their consideration in establishing a risk profile for compulsive buying that serves as a guide for the development of prevention and treatment programs with guarantees of effectiveness. However, there are only a small number of studies in existence which have explored the compulsive buying prevalence among students, and none of them have been conducted in a Mediterranean country. OBJECTIVES This study aims to estimate the compulsive buying prevalence in a sample of university students from the region of Galicia (Spain). We also intend to determine if statistically significant differences exist between compulsive buyers and non-compulsive buyers in relation with gender, materialistic values, psychological distress symptoms and subjective well-being. Lastly, the clarification of which of the determinants examined represent risk or protection factors for compulsive buying constitutes another important objective of this paper. METHODS A total sample of 1448 university students participated in this study. They answered a battery of self-reports assessing gender, compulsive buying propensity, materialism, distress symptomatology, and well-being. Participants were initially classified as either compulsive buyers or non-compulsive buyers. Both groups were compared for the aforementioned variables through chi-square testing or variance analyses. Then, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine which of these determinants make up a risk profile for compulsive buying. RESULTS The estimated prevalence of compulsive buying in the sample of university students considered was 7.4%. Statistically significant differences between compulsive buyers and non-compulsive buyers were detected for gender, and each and every one of the psychological variables explored. Specifically, it was confirmed that compulsive buyers obtained significantly higher scores in materialisms dimensions of importance, success, and happiness, and in the psychological distress symptoms of anxiety, depression, obsession-compulsion, hostility, and somatization. On the contrary, they presented significantly lower levels in self-esteem, life satisfaction, and optimism. Results of the logistic regression analysis confirmed that high scores in the importance dimension of materialism, in combination with the experiencing of symptoms of anxiety, depression, obsession-compulsion, hostility, and somatization, would constitute risk factors in relation with this phenomenon, and high levels of life satisfaction would act as a protection factor as for compulsive buying in the sample of students considered. CONCLUSIONS Current findings revealed that 7.4% of the large sample of Spanish university students considered were classified as compulsive buyers. Additionally, it was confirmed that while materialism and psychological distress symptoms would represent vulnerability determinants increasing the propensity for compulsive buying, the high scores in life satisfaction would act to decrease the likelihood of becoming a compulsive buyer. Accordingly, our results suggested that prevention and intervention efforts in relation with compulsive buying among young people should include specific components aimed at the reduction of the importance assigned to money and possessions, and also at the relief of psychological distress symptoms.