One Out of 20 Americans a Compulsive Shopper

Estimates on the prevalence of compulsive buying have varied widely, but the results of a survey of 2,513 US adults, the first survey of a large general population sample, suggest that 6% of women and 5.5% of men suffer from uncontrollable urges to buy and and the adverse consequences thereof. The authors of the study also found that compulsive buying was more common in the young and those with incomes <$50,000. Compulsive buyers were also significantly less likely to pay off their credit card balances. The authors stress the need for “clinically valid interviews” and suggest that compulsive buying warrants treatment. This study appeared in the American Journal of Psychiatry. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/10/1806

-PC