ABSTRACT
Aim To investigate impulsive behaviors in pathological buying (PB). Methods The study included three groups matched for age and gender: treatment seeking outpatients with PB (PB+), treatment seeking psychiatric inpatients without PB (PB-), and a healthy control group (HC). PB was assessed by means of the Compulsive Buying Scale and by the impulse control disorder (ICD) module of the research version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-ICD). All participants answered questionnaires concerning symptoms of borderline personality disorder, self-harming behaviors, binge eating and symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, comorbid ICDs were assessed using the SCID-ICD. Results The PB+ and PB- groups did not differ with regard to borderline personality disorder or ADHD symptoms, but both groups reported significantly more symptoms than the HC group. Frequencies of self-harming behaviors did not differ between the three groups. Patients with PB were more often diagnosed with any current ICD (excluding PB) compared to those without PB and the HC group (38.7% vs. 12.9% vs. 12.9%, respectively, p=.017). Discussion Our findings confirm prior research suggesting more impulsive behaviors in patients with and without PB compared to healthy controls. The results of the questionnaire-based assessment indicate that outpatients with PB perceive themselves equally impulsive and self-harm as frequently as inpatients without PB; but they seem to suffer more often from an ICD as assessed by means of an interview.
Subject(s)
Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders/psychology , Impulsive Behavior , Adult , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/epidemiology , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/psychology , Borderline Personality Disorder/epidemiology , Borderline Personality Disorder/psychology , Comorbidity , Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders/complications , Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders/epidemiology , Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders/therapy , Female , Humans , Inpatients , Male , Patient Acceptance of Health Care/psychology , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Self-Injurious Behavior , Severity of Illness Index , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine reactive and regulative temperament in patients with compulsive buying (CB) by means of self-report measures and performance-based tasks and to explore the relationship between both measurement approaches. METHOD: The study included 31 treatment-seeking patients with CB (25 women, 6 men) and an age and gender matched non-clinical control group without CB (CG). All participants answered the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS). Reactive temperament was assessed using the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Regulative temperament was measured using the Effortful Control subscale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ-EC) and a computerized version of the Stroop Task. To control the results for depression, the Patient Health Questionnaire-Depression Scale (PHQ-9) was administered. RESULTS: Crude group comparisons revealed higher BIS and BAS scores, poorer IGT performance and lower ATQ-EC scores in the CB-group compared to the CG. The groups did not differ in their performance on the Stroop task. After controlling for depressive symptoms that were significantly higher in the CB-group, only the group differences in BAS reactivity remained significant. No significant associations were found between questionnaires and performance-based tasks. CONCLUSION: Overall, the findings indicate that CB in the present clinical sample of treatment-seeking patients was mainly associated with higher approach tendencies and more depressive symptoms. The lacking correlation between self-reports and performance-based tasks is in line with prior research and suggests that both methodologies tap into different aspects of temperament.
Subject(s)
Compulsive Behavior/diagnosis , Compulsive Behavior/psychology , Internal-External Control , Personality Assessment/statistics & numerical data , Self Report , Temperament , Adult , Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Anxiety Disorders/therapy , Compulsive Behavior/therapy , Depression/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder, Major/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder, Major/psychology , Depressive Disorder, Major/therapy , Female , Gambling/psychology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Psychometrics , Stroop Test/statistics & numerical data , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
The aim of the present work was to examine the influence of reactive and regulatory temperament on compulsive buying (CB) in a sample of 102 patients (79 women, 23 men) with clinical CB. All participants answered the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), the Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS), and the Effortful Control subscale (ATQ-EC) of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire-Short Form. Based on previous studies demonstrating that depression and materialism are linked with CB, in addition, the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9) and the Materialistic Values Scale (MVS) were administered. CBS scores were significantly correlated with the MVS, PHQ-9, and BAS scores. The findings of the hierarchical regression analysis, however, indicated that in the present sample of treatment-seeking patients the only significant association was found between CB and depression. The results highlight the prominent role of depression in CB. There is a need for longitudinal studies in order to answer the question whether depression is the cause or the consequence of CB.
