An exploration of Compulsive Buying Disorder amongst university students

Abstract

Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD) is typically characterized by excessive shopping and buying behaviour that leads to distress (Black D. , 1996). The phenomenon of CBD amongst a sample of University Students was explored. The aims of the current study were to explore the prevalence and highlight the characteristics of CBD habits through inquiries about the person's behaviours related to shopping and spending. Self-esteem and consideration of future consequences were also investigated as correlates of CBD. The results indicate that from a random sample of 492 participants, 5% were classified as compulsive buyers, the majority (86%) of these were female with a mean age of 24 years. 30% said that they had received the diagnosis of either an AXIS 1 or AXIS 2 disorder; the likelihood of being diagnosed with a psychiatric condition was significantly greater amongst compulsive buyers than non-compulsive buyers. CBD was measured using the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS) (Faber & O'Guinn, A Clinical Screener for Compulsive Buying, 1992) and high CBD scores were found to correlate significantly with self-esteem scores (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale) (Rosenberg, 1965) and Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) (Strathman, Boninger, Gleicher, & Edwards, 1994). This preliminary investigation, a first of its kind conducted locally, provides preliminary findings that are consistent with some of the overseas literature, in that compulsive buyers tend to have a lower self-esteem and less consideration of future consequences than non-compulsive buyers. Future research implications and replicability of findings are discussed.