Depression, materialism, and excessive Internet use in relation to compulsive buying

The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between compulsive buying (CB), depression, materialism, and excessive Internet use.

An online survey of 387 consumers was conducted including questions about demographics and shopping venues, the Compulsive Buying Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale, the Materialistic Values Scale, and questions concerning excessive Internet use.

Seventeen percent of the participants reported Compulsive Buying Scale scores less than -1.34 and were considered to be having CB. Participants with CB did not significantly differ from those without CB regarding age, sex, marital status, annual household income, and shopping preferences. Individuals with CB reported more depressive symptoms, higher materialistic values endorsement, and more severe excessive Internet use compared with those without CB. Results of a stepwise logistic regression analysis with CB as the dependent variable showed that materialism and depression were associated with CB, whereas excessive Internet use was not.

Materialism and depression jointly influence CB. Further research is needed to examine the influence of materialism on CB in a clinical sample consisting of patients with diagnosed CB.