Five-year follow-up of people diagnosed with compulsive shopping disorder

The authors assessed clinical symptoms and self-reported shopping and spending behavior in people diagnosed with compulsive shopping (CS) at a 5-year follow-up interview.

All met the criteria of McElroy et al. for lifetime CS and had the disorder for >1year. Structured and semistructured instruments and self-report questionnaires were used to collect data.

Of the original 26 subjects, 17 (65%) were interviewed and are the focus of this report. At follow-up, their ages ranged from 23 to 67years (mean=44years). Lifetime psychiatric comorbidity was common, but few had current psychiatric disorders at follow-up. Interest in shopping and spending decreased for eight (47%), stayed the same for five (29%), and increased for four (24%) subjects. Eleven subjects (65%) reported having attempted to quit their CS and three (18%) reported successfully doing so. Triggers for returning to CS included feelings of pressure/excitement/tension to shop; boredom; negative feelings such as sadness, depression, frustration, or anger; and the desire for positive feelings like happiness, power, or elation. Mean scores on the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS) and the shopping version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale showed overall improvement in CS symptoms (d=1.16 and d=-1.19, respectively); subjects were also less impulsive (d=-0.48). At baseline and follow-up, those with a lifetime mood disorder tended to have greater CS severity.

While the subjects showed overall improvement, most had ongoing symptoms of CS. The implications of the findings are discussed.