Compulsive Shooping & Depression

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Running head: COMPULSIVE SHOPPING AND DEPRESSION

Compulsive Shopping and its’ Relationship with Depression

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Compulsive Shopping and its’ Relationship with Depression

Compulsive shopping can be associated with depression. An increasing body of research has found that there is a link between compulsive shopping and depression. According to Faber and O’Guinn compulsive shopping was first defined as “chronic, repetitive purchasing that becomes a primary response to negative events or feelings” ( Faber & O’Guinn, 1992). Researchers have found that individuals suffering from compulsive shopping tend to have self esteem issues and tend to fantasize more than those individuals who do not suffer from compulsive shopping.

Faber and O’Guinn conducted a study of compulsive shopping through the use of a survey. The goal of the study was to establish a relationship between depression and compulsive shopping as well as to determine the prevalence of compulsive shopping. The participants in the study included both compulsive shoppers and members of the general public . The participants who had identified themselves as compulsive shoppers were picked because they wanted help and had not previously attempted to receive treatment. Participants were given a questionnaire that was designed to address psychological and behavioral aspects of their shopping trips . The participants also completed interviews with trained therapists. The goal of the study was to establish a relationship between depression and compulsive shopping as well as to determine the prevalence of compulsive shopping. Faber and O’Guinn found significant differences between compulsive shoppers and general consumers. Compulsive shoppers were found to have a similar number of credit cards as general consumers however, they had far more credit card debt than general consumers. The study also established that compulsive shoppers have issues with motivation, self-esteem, depression, and mania.

There are several limitations to Faber and O’Guinn’s research. Because the study was primarily based on self-report methods, issues such as participants not being truthful, not answering questions, or rambling on when asked questions could have effected the validity of the study. Another limitation is

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the fact that it was impossible to study the entire United States population and therefore it is impossible to determine an exact prevalence rate for compulsive shopping. The third limitation to this study was that not all aspects of compulsive shopping were addressed in the questionnaire or interviews such as the social aspects of compulsive shopping.

Other researchers have also completed studies about compulsive shopping. A Stanford University Medical Center team led by Lorrin M. Koran has done a study of compulsive shopping to determine whether it can be linked to depression (Bower, 2006). Koran and his team conducted telephone surveys with 2,513 participants . The telephone interviews depend only on self-reports. The participants were ages 18 and older . Each of the telephone interviews lasted approximately 11 minutes, in which participants were questioned about their purchasing habits as well as the events surrounding their purchasing. Financial troubles and emotions incurred before, during, and after shopping were also discussed.

Koran and his team found that 6% of the women and 5.5% of the men displayed the classic signs of compulsive buying. According to Bower, Koran’s study also explained that those people displaying the characteristics of compulsive buyers were an average of forty-years-old with reported annual incomes of less than $50,000 per year. Those participants displaying compulsive buyer traits were found to have the same number of credit cards as other participants, however, they tended to have “maxed-out” their cards or have come close to it. Koran and his team also found that about 6% of adults who are compulsive buyers experience feelings of depression or anxiety after shopping binges.

The main limitation of Koran’s study is that his method depended only on self-report. Self-report methods are difficult to assess in terms of reliability. Also, only having used self-report methods does not allow for deeper investigation.

Claire Sanders (Sanders, 1994) completed a questionnaire study in England that examined compulsive shopping behavior. Questionnaires were sent out to the general public and a smaller

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number of the population was selected for the study. The research focused on 15 compulsive shoppers . In depth interviews were done with the 15 participants

The study found evidence that unidentified depression can lead to manic shopping . The study also determined that compulsive shopping does not only affect women but also men. The study also recognized that the social aspect of shopping had increased participants level of happiness . Koran’s study found that 1 in 20 adults suffer from compulsive shopping (Kaplan, 2006). The study also found that compulsive shoppers “suffer from abnormally high levels of depression and anxiety”.

Like the previous two studies, there are limitations to this study. Self-report methods are effective, however, they do not allow researchers to observe the biological aspects of a disorder.

Volume 6 issue 2 of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice discusses the need to enter compulsive shopping into the DSM-V (Kasper, 2002). Compulsive shopping is listed in the DSM-IV under the category of impulse control disorders . An increased awareness of compulsive shoppings prevalence and its harmful consequences need to be addressed . Also, Kasper explains that because compulsive shopping is so prevalent it needs to be addressed in the newest edition of the DSM because medical professionals need to have a resource to confide in that will help them to treat it . Kasper also explains that it is often times difficult to diagnose compulsive shopping because the symptoms are very similar to the symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder and even mania. Proposed treatments include psychotherapy