According to a paper by Professor Sunghwan Yi, published in the Journal of Consumer Policy, seven percent of compulsive shoppers are suffering from chronic shame. Professor Yi says his research, based on several self-reporting surveys, examined shame in relationship to extreme compulsive buying. Previous research had found a connection between mood-related over shopping but this was the first study to explore which negative emotions triggered shopping episodes. Yi explains that compulsive shopping is an addiction related to obsessive-compulsive disorder and requires treatment to help reduce or resolve chronic behavioral issues. He concludes that “More mental health support for compulsive buying and other behavioral addictions is needed.”
Read the entire article here: Shame a Key Risk Factor for Compulsive Buying, Study Shows
Carrie Rattle is a Principal at BehavioralCents.com, a website for women focused on mind and money behaviors. She has worked in the financial services industry for 20+ years and hopes to inspire women to better prepare themselves for financial independence.