Supervisors info:
Παπαρρηγόπουλος Θωμάς, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Τζαβέλλας Ηλίας, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Τριανταφύλλου Καλλιόπη, Επιστημονική Συνεργάτις, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Introduction:. The present study tackles a relatively new phenomenon in the field of mental health, Compulsive Buying Disorder. According to research, people who show symptoms of compulsive buying report that before the impulsive buying episodes are preceded by negative emotional states, with the main ones being a feeling of loneliness and low self-esteem. Thus, shopping is a means of short-term pleasure in an effort of those who suffer emotionally to manage their negatives. emotions.However in the long run they are faced with multifaceted harmful consequences.
Purpose: The research presented aims to investigate the relationship between the symptoms of Compulsive Shopping Disorder and two psychological factors, the subjective feeling of loneliness and self-esteem. Another aim of the research is to look for any differences that may exist in terms of gender and the appearance of compulsive buying symptoms.
Method: This is a cross-sectional study carried out on a sample of greek adults.In particular, it involved men and women (aged 18-55) from all over the country. In total, 201 people (48 men-153 women) participated in the survey with an average age 35.9 years old. The time period of the study dates from the beginning of November 2023 until February 2024.The data collection tools used are as follows: To detect compulsive buying behavior, the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS) tool was administered, to measure self-esteem, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale was administered(RSES). and for the measurement of the feeling of loneliness the Scale for measuring subjective feeling of loneliness (The UCLA Loneliness Scale). Finally, participants were asked to answer questions about demographic and socio-economic characteristics.
Results: Statistical analysis revealed that31.8% meet the criteria for compulsive buying disorder.From the entire sample, women (41.8%) make more compulsive purchases than men. Both the Loneliness Scale and the Self-Esteem Scale were found to be significantly related to the dimensions and total scale of Compulsive Buying(p<0,001).Specifically, the correlation of the loneliness scale with the dimensions and the total scale of compulsive buying was positive. Conversely, higher self-esteem was associated with less compulsive consumption behavior (p<0.001). Gender and the loneliness scale were found to be associated with higher mean values on the compulsive buyingscale and its dimensions (p<0.001).Specifically, women made more compulsive purchases, compared to men, and greater loneliness was associated with more intense compulsive consumption behavior.Also, among other things, self-esteem appeared to be related to high average scores on the dimension of the compulsive shopping scale "guilt after purchases".
Conclusions: In this study, a first attempt is made to pinpoint the compulsive buying disorder in the Greek population and investigate its relationship with self-esteem and loneliness, in order to observe if there is agreement with the international literature. The resulting findings, which are in agreement with the relevant literature, demonstrate that the prevalence of compulsive buying symptoms is significantly higher in women and that the link with self-esteem and loneliness is significant. Finally, taking into account the limitations of the research, it would be very useful to conduct further studies aimed at a more complete understanding and framing of the phenomenon of compulsive shopping.
Keywords:
Compulsive buying disorder, Symptoms, Loneliness, Self-esteem, Gender
