Individual factors associated with buying addiction: An empirical study

Abstract

This study analyses the relationship between buying addiction and a set of individual factors. The results show that addictive buying is significantly associated with the personal variables considered in our research; what is more, the discriminant analysis carried out suggests a “hierarchy” of defining factors common to those individuals who present a high level of addictive buying: anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsiveness are the variables which are most closely linked to this psychological addiction, followed by passive coping, low self-esteem, low conscientiousness, external locus of control, and sensation seeking, respectively. The implications and potential limitations of these findings, as well as some recommendations for future research, are presented.