Compulsive buying: relationship with body mass index.

OBJECTIVE: Compulsive buying has historically been associated with various self-regulatory disturbances, including eating pathology (e.g., binge eating). Therefore, a relationship between scores on a measure of compulsive buying, the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), and body mass index (BMI) in adulthood was hypothesized. DESIGN AND METHODS: Using a self-report survey methodology in a cross-sectional consecutive sample of convenience of 373 obstetrics/gynecology patients, correlations between CBS scores and BMI, both generally and with regard to race were examined. RESULTS: A modest general correlation between CBS scores and BMI (r = 0.17, P < 0.01) was found. However, when these data were examined by race, CBS scores and BMI were significantly related among Caucasian women (r = 0.25, P < 0.01), but not in African American women (r = 0.04, P = n.s.). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that compulsive buying is associated with increasing BMI in adulthood, particularly among Caucasian women.

Compulsive buying and borderline personality symptomatology.

In this study, the authors investigated the relationship between compulsive buying and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptomatology--two disorders possibly linked through impulsivity. Using a survey methodology in a cross-sectional consecutive sample of nonemergent female outpatients from an obstetrics/gynecology clinic, the authors assessed compulsive buying with the compulsive buying scale (CBS) and BPD symptomatology through the BPD scale of the personality diagnostic questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4) and the self-harm Inventory (SHI). In this sample, 8% of Caucasian women and 9% of African-American women scored positively for compulsive buying. The correlations between scores on the CBS and the PDQ-4 and SHI were 0.43 and 0.41, respectively-both statistically significant at the p < .001 level. Compared to Caucasian women, African-American women demonstrated statistical associations between the BPD measures and the CBS scale scores that were significantly larger. Findings suggest relationships between compulsive buying and BPD, particularly among African-American women.

Childhood trauma and compulsive buying.

OBJECTIVE: Childhood trauma has been empirically associated with various types of self-regulatory difficulties in adulthood. However, according to the extant literature, no study has examined relationships between various types of childhood trauma and compulsive buying behavior in adulthood. METHODS: Using a self-report survey methodology in a cross-sectional consecutive sample of 370 obstetrics/gynecology patients, we examined five types of childhood trauma before the age of 12 years (i.e. witnessing violence, physical neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse) in relationship to compulsive buying as assessed by the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS). RESULTS: All forms of trauma demonstrated statistically significant correlations with the CBS. Using a linear regression analysis, both witnessing violence and emotional abuse significantly contributed to CBS scores. Further analyses indicated that race did not moderate the relationship between childhood trauma and compulsive buying. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that various forms of childhood trauma are correlated with compulsive buying behavior, particularly witnessing violence and emotional abuse.

The prevalence of 22 self-harm behaviors in a consecutive sample of obstetrics/gynecology outpatients.

BACKGROUND: While a number of previous studies have examined limited forms of self-harm behavior, such as suicidal ideation/attempts/completions, or one specific behavior such as cutting or burning oneself(most frequently in psychiatric populations), few studies have examined the lifetime prevalence of multiple self-harm behaviors in a single non-psychiatric population and no study has done so among obstetrics/gynecology outpatients. METHOD: Using a cross-sectional consecutive sample of 370 women presenting to an obstetrics/gynecology outpatient clinic and a self-report survey methodology, we examined the lifetime prevalence of 22 self-harm behaviors. RESULTS: In this sample, the most frequently self-reported self-harm behaviors were: engaged in emotionally abusive relationships (24.7%), abused alcohol (22.0%), been promiscuous (21.0%), attempted suicide (18.3%), and tortured self with self-defeating thoughts (16.7%). Four of these preceding behaviors were also the most commonly reported 5 of 22 behaviors in 3 previous studies of self-harm behavior in different clinical populations. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that the most frequently reported lifetime self-harm behaviors are relatively common across various non-psychiatric clinical populations of adults, albeit in different proportions, with some exceptions (i.e., suicide attempts in the present sample).

An examination of racial differences in self-harm behavior.

The prevalence of diverse and multiple self-harm behaviors according to race/ethnicity has been infrequently explored. In the present study, using a cross-sectional design and a self-report survey methodology, we examined the prevalence rates of and statistically significant differences in multiple self-harm behaviors among 200 White and 146 African-American women from an obstetrics/gynecology clinic. Compared with African-American women, we found that White women reported generally higher prevalence rates of self-harm behaviors (20 of 21) and significantly higher percentages with regard to seven specific self-harm behaviors. In addition, we found support that self-harm behavior reflects the same latent construct across both groups.