Shopping addiction is defined as impulse control deficiency that arises as a desire to continue making new purchases of unnecessary or excessive things. This is a concept similar to "compulsive buying disorder" and "oniomania", although these terms usually have a more clinical approach, linked to individual impulse control impulses. The phrase "shopping for addiction" usually has a more psychosocial perspective. or placed between drug-free addictions like gambling addiction, internet, or video-games.
Video Shopping addiction
Manifestation of behavior
There are three types of manifestations of shopping addiction behavior, with various reactions. These can be displayed together or independently and in more or less intense ways. Nevertheless, they are closely related and seem to join people who suffer from this disorder.
The first is the appeal to the consumer stimulus, which is an addiction to buying as a recreational activity. It is about the uncontrolled and excessive lottery to use shopping as a recreational activity, usually in an exclusive and remarkable way. While activities such as shopping-windows, visiting shops or spending time in commercial centers are a common and socially accepted activity of desire, an addict is distinguished as a person whose excessive interest to buy disrupts the normal development of life and undermines their relationship with others , being an obsessive and uncontrolled activity.
Although shopping and compulsive shopping addictions differ conceptually, they are intertwined and both are manifestations of the same problem: lack of self-control when buying and resisting impulse. Shopping addiction is understood as a desire to continue making new purchases of unnecessary or excessive things. The concept of compulsive buying is related to the psychological process that causes many people to not control impulse and buying desire, and directs them to reflexes and evaluations before buying. The basic behavioral characteristic of people who have serious problems of consumer addiction is that their purchase is unnecessary and unsatisfactory. Addicts may feel happy or relieved when they give up on spending desire, but regret it afterwards. In the case of people with severe shopping addiction problems, this regret can cause deep feelings of guilt and discomfort.
Lack of economic self-control: this is a serious and permanent disability to adjust spending habits with individual economic means. It's not about casual or unexpected expenses that make life difficult, but it is an absolute inability to control personal or family income in a rational way, and to discipline their purchases, no matter how exaggerated they may be. The manifestation of this lack of control is usually the use of excessive debt. The end result is an active or "guilty" debt; this is derived from improper consumer behavior.
Maps Shopping addiction
Impact on the general population
The level of people with shopping addiction problems is highly controversial, since the dividing line between pathological behavior and behavior that, although redundant, socially acceptable, is very difficult to determine. However, shopping addictions and other manifestations of a lack of self-control on spending is a widespread problem that continues to grow. The study using samples from the general population shows that between 8% and 16% of people have problems with purchasing excessive or uncontrolled. Clinical studies provide a much lower number, however, between 2% and 5%. According to the European Report on programs for the prevention and treatment of personal problems related to consumer addiction, personal purchase habits and excess debt, 3% of European adults and 8% of European youth have a level of shopping addiction that can become regarded as pathological, which seriously affects the lives of these suffering people. Other estimates for the prevalence of compulsive purchasing ranges from the lowest 2 percent to 12 percent or more (in the US population.). Most people who have this problem do not receive or request treatment. Those who ask for help only do so after years of suffering, when addiction has caused a very serious economic impact and has damaged relationships with their families and social environment. For this reason and due to a lack of social awareness on this issue, the unrecorded figure of the people who suffer from this problem is very high. In addition to severe cases of shopping addiction, an important part of consumers (between 30% and 50% of the population) has the disadvantage of spending self-control or over-purchasing. According to the European Report, 33% of European adults and 46% of young Europeans have minor or moderate problems with shopping addiction or lack of economic self-control.
Relationships with other annoyances
The relationship of shopping addiction to other psychological disorders - especially with those related to depression or anxiety - has been studied. This addiction is also associated with low self-esteem and with personality features such as impulsivity, materialism and hedonism.
The problem of depression is the most frequent consequence in the case of the most serious shopping addiction. This is due to the fact that many consumers use shopping as a tool to offset or face a depressed state. Edwards (1992) in a study to study the effects of several personal variables in two groups, one shopping addict and other non-addicted consumers, came to the conclusion that depression was the trigger for the problem of shopping addiction. In accordance with this data, other researchers have shown high rates of incidence of depressive disorders among shopping addicts: McElloy (1994) is placed on 25% of addicts with depression problems, Lejoyeux (1998) of 61%, and Black, Montaban and Gabel ( 1997) of 60%. More recent research suggests that shopping addicts usually have a feeling of living an unsatisfying and uninspired life, without any hope or joy. In these cases, by buying, addicts seek ways to escape, satisfaction, even if for a moment to compensate and endure depressive feelings.
Cole (1995) conducted a study with a sample of 420 people and came to the conclusion that anxiety has an important role in shopping addiction, as an antecedent or a trigger factor. In another study, Valence (1988) revealed that as the level of anxiety increases, the chances of developing shopping addiction grow. Clinical research on the occurrence of anxiety disorder in the addition of shopping also shows this relationship, although the percentage changed a lot: Shlosser (1994) 42%; McElroy (1994) 80%, and Christenson (1994) 50%. Research conducted by GarcÃÆ'Â © s and Salcedo in 2005, based on a sample of 253 young people, concluded that the nature of anxiety had a significant effect on shopping addiction but, by itself, did not specify.
Population differences
Gender
The higher incidence rate of shopping addiction in women is shown in the first study working on the subject, so much so that it is considered a "women's problem". Some researchers think that this is a woman's special manifestation of the problem of depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Others, from the psychoanalyst's point of view, think that it is a matter very similar to kleptomania and they relate it to sexual repression to explain the high incidence rates in women. Research conducted in the last century confirms this distinction even though it does not agree on the scope. Another hypothesis has been expressed to explain these differences. For example, people are more likely to develop an addiction to the behavior they usually do and most home purchases are still done by women. Because shopping for many women one of their most ordinary activities, as a liability or as an entertainment, easily becomes an important mechanism for escaping, facing other problems and eventually becoming addicted. Another possible cause is that the most prominent shopping cases are usually associated with clothing, shoes, cosmetics and accessories, products related to physical appearance and more often purchased by women. Other excessive product purchases such as electronics, computers or D.I.Y, car accessories, etc., often done by men are usually overlooked. This assessment has been confirmed by research on various products purchased by women and men who are addicted. Some studies (Flaber, OÃ,Â'Guin and Krych in 1987, Scherhorn 1990, and McElroy in 1994), agree that women spend more on clothes, shoes, perfumes and, in general, men tend to spend more on equipment sports, car accessories and electronic products. The 1999 European Report specifies that women are attracted by activities such as shopping or window shopping, spending time in the mall, escorting other people's shopping. In addition, they more often use shopping as a means of dealing with sadness, depression or despair. However, the Report did not show any significant differences between men and women associated with economic self-control or impulsive purchases.
Age
Research conducted on people undergoing treatment, as well as in the general population has revealed a negative correlation between age and addiction. As we get older, there are fewer spending addicts. This data is confirmed by the 1999 European Report. It should be noted that the age of diagnosis is much slower than the age when addiction problems begin. Most addicts have the first addiction symptoms in their twenties, but do not seek help or receive treatment for more than ten years afterwards. To explain the incidence of higher shopping addiction in young people, it has been shown that younger people have been born, and have grown, in an increasingly consumerist society and they have endured the impact of publicity and marketing since birth. On the contrary, it is very unusual to find shopping addiction problems in people older than 65 years.
Different theoretical approach
Clinical approach: since ancient times, cases of people who bought in an uncontrolled way have been described, but the first relevant reference to shopping addiction emerged in the early twentieth century with Kraepelin and Bleuler. They analyze cases of people, usually women, who are unable to control their excess purchases and they regard this behavior as a symptom of other psychological diseases: depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, problems with impulse control, etc. The clinical approach is also followed by psychoanalytic theory that interprets this behavior as close to kleptomania and this will be a manifestation of internal conflict. Until the 1980s, this clinical approach was the most dominant in psychology and psychiatry. Shopping addiction is regarded as an impaired individual impulse control or obsessive compulsive disorder, and a higher incidence rate in women and its relationship to depressed problems is emphasized.
Psychosocial Approach: Since the 1980s a significant increase in the number of people with important problems of lack of control in spending and spending has been established. Given the fact that this increase is parallel to the spread of the values ​​and behavior of consumer societies, this disorder begins to be perceived as an individual manifestation of a common social problem. A model that takes this approach is one by Javier Garcà © s and Alejandro Saucedo, who regard shopping addiction as "the tip of the iceberg" ie, the most intense manifestation of a common problem affecting, to a greater or lesser degree,. The difference in behavior between the average consumer and the shopping addict is more quantitative than qualitative. Commercial advertising and influence, which causes some people to be seriously addicted to shopping problems or excessive debt, also contribute to excessive consumer behavior in many others. This model is graphically depicted by the "consumerist pyramid". Another model is maintained by Helga Ditmar, which can be classified as a mixed model, since he considers that the problem of shopping addiction is caused by a conjunction of two factors: the high level of materialism and the high difference between the actual self-concept (how the person sees themselves alone) and the ideal self-concept (how the person wants to see themselves).
Addiction to shopping as a drug-free addiction or social addiction: In this theoretical perspective, incompatible with the previous approach, shopping addiction is usually included among so-called "drug-free addictions", such as gambling addiction and, in particular, in a number of addictions grouped together as addictions social such as internet addiction, video-games or mobile phones.
Diagnosis
Because people who buy more than they need are normal and accepted, even the most excessive behavior takes a long time before being considered pathological. Shopping addiction generally manifests between 20-30 years, but it is usually undetectable until a few years later, when the addiction has caused the person to crash and bankrupt.
There are usually two stages in solving the problem. First, people around addicts or health or social services detect problems and try to treat them. When, because of the seriousness of the case, it is impossible to solve it in this way, special professionals, such as psychologists or psychiatrists, take part. The diagnosis and evaluation of shopping addiction is based on an analysis of confirmed behaviors and their consequences. Special tests or questionnaires, such as FACC-II (Questionnaire about psychological aspects of consumer addiction, debt and personal spending habits) are also used. This particular questionnaire or test is useful in the diagnosis and evaluation of shopping addiction problems, and to encourage therapy in a timely manner. FACC-II is one of the most specific and widest. The Edwards scale is another approach that measures the propensity to buy compulsively. All these resources, as well as personal interviews of addicts and those surrounding them, reports, and other documents, allow knowledge of when people buy, what they buy, and the method of payment they use.
Treatment
Pharmacology treatments
The inclusion of this problem in obsessive-compulsive disorder and its association with depression has led to some use of antidepressants as a treatment. In antidepressant drugs, particular attention has been given to those associated with serotonin, a brain neurotransmitter. This substance should be related to deficiencies in stimulus control, so drugs like fluoxetine and fluvoxamine, which increase serotonin levels in the brain, will be a pharmacological alternative to treating shopping addiction. Although the results were not conclusive, in the nineties some research was conducted that supported the effectiveness of this treatment, at least in certain cases.
Behavioral therapy
The treatment of shopping addiction - in contrast to other addictions such as gambling, alcohol, or smoking - can not permanently get rid of addicts from the behavior. After therapy, they must be able to deal with the stimuli of consumers who surround them and maintain self-control. Therefore, the most common therapy is behavior. Especially control of stimulation and exposure and prevention of responses.
Trusts
In the treatment of shopping addiction is often very useful for others - usually friends, relatives or educators - to help addicts control their spending and impulsive purchases. In this case, addicts must accept that all their money, credit cards, bank accounts, etc., will be controlled by the guardian. This person becomes their "voluntary guardian". It is possible that the addict should also accept not going alone to the store and other restrictions, even legal.
Self-registration technique
The self-registration technique involves an addict who records their activities in order to remember and analyze them. This can range from simple personal accountability of income and expenditure, in cases of lack of small economic control, to detailed book purchases, events and feelings, in case of more serious shopping addiction. Self-registra- tion is useful for getting clues about behavior, which can be unknown to the addicts themselves. In addition, itself, a therapeutic tool that helps addicts understand and reflect on their behavior. These techniques are effective in improving economic self-control and avoiding impulsive purchases and are usually included, in one way or another, in all treatment programs.
Self help groups and group therapy
Some group self-help experiences and group therapy have been conducted in a manner very similar to those used in other addictions. Preliminary evidence suggests that groups for compulsive buyers' cholera become effective. & Gt;.
See also
- Consumerism
- Oniomania
- Compulsive disruption of purchase
- Compulsive behavior
- Bergen Addiction Shopping Scale
References
Bibliography
- April Lane Benson, " To Buy or Not to Purchase: Why We're Overrated and How to Stop " Massachusetts 2008 (UK)
- Donald W Black, Overview of compulsive purchasing disorders World Psychiatry World Psychiatric Association Official Journal (WPA). February 2007; 6 (1): 14-18.
- GarcÃÆ' Â © s Prieto, Javier, "Self-help and self-help manual: Shopping addiction: self-control and responsibility in shopping and spending" European Interregional Institute for Consumer Affairs. European Commission. (English, Spanish and Italian versions).
- Holman Coombs, Robert Addictive Disorder: A Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment .
- Jeffrey Powell " Shopping Add-on: Drugs for Compulsive Shopping and Shopping " (English)
- PalacÃÆ' Descals, Salcedo Aznal and Ruiz MarÃÆ'n. "El comportamiento del Consumidor en la Sociedad Actual ( Consumer behavior in today's society." Publisher: Sanz y Torres. Madrid 2008. (Spain).
- RodrÃÆ'guez Villarino, Otero-LÃÆ'³pez y RodrÃÆ'guez Castro. "' AdicciÃÆ'³n a la Compra: anÃÆ'¡lisis, evoluciÃÆ'³n y tratamiento' ". Editorial Piramide. 2001 (Spain)
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