Pathological buying and partnership status

This pilot study investigated the partnership status and the level of pathological buying (PB) in 157 female patients with PB and 1153 women from a German population-based sample. Slightly more than half of both samples were currently living with a partner. The results suggest a protective effect of being in a couple relationship in the representative sample. In contrast, having a partner was not related to the severity of PB among patients. Future studies should address the question of whether the characteristics and quality of partnership have an impact on the severity and course of PB, and vice versa.