The relationship between compulsive buying, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, eating behaviour and body image

Compulsive buying disorder presents adverse consequences to an individual’s personal, social, occupational and financial lives, yet the disorder is understudied and continues to rise dramatically. The following study aimed to enhance our understanding of compulsive buying by investigating the behaviour in relation to obsessive-compulsive tendencies, eating behaviour, body image, gender and age. A questionnaire was developed utilising four scales and distributed to a non-clinical sample (N=163). Significant negative relationships were found between compulsive buying, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, body image and age, whilst a positive relationship was demonstrated between compulsive buying and eating behaviour. Gender was presented to be the greatest predictor of compulsive buying, with females demonstrating higher tendencies. Conclusions included the recognition that compulsive buying is related to a number of psychological and biological factors which ought to be considered when assessing the behaviour. Additionally, it is proposed that classifying compulsive buying as an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder may not be appropriate due to the negative correlation