Prevalence and characteristics of compulsive buying in college students Arit Harvanko a , Katherine Lust b , Brian L. Odlaug c , Liana R.N. Schreiber d , Katherine Derbyshire e , Gary Christenson b , Jon E. Grant e,n a Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky Lexington, KY, USA b Boynton Health Services, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA c Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark d Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical Center Minneapolis, MN, USA e Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, MC 3077, Chicago, IL 60637, USA article info Article history: Received 10 November 2012 Received in revised form 24 August 2013 Accepted 28 August 2013 Keywords: Impulse control disorders Prevalence Oniomania abstract Compulsive buying (CB) is a potentially devastating problem involving repetitive urges to shop and uncontrolled spending behaviors. Prevalence of CB in the general population has been estimated at 5.8%. This epidemiological study aims to better understand the prevalence and characteristics of college students who meet criteria for CB. During the spring of 2011, an online survey examining CB (using a clinically validated screening instrument, the Minnesota Impulse Disorders Interview), stress and mood states, psychiatric comorbidity, and psychosocial functioning was emailed to 2108 University students. Overall survey response rate was 35.1% (n ¼2108). Our data indicated that 3.6% (n ¼67) of college students surveyed met criteria for CB with significantly more women affected (4.4%, n ¼48) than men (2.5%, n ¼19). Relative to students not meeting criteria for CB, college students who met criteria for CB endorsed significantly greater psychiatric comorbidity, lower grade point averages, increased stress, and poorer physical health. Presence of CB is likely associated with a variety of problems in college students. These data may warrant increased screening of CB in college students to establish early interventions. & 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Initially termed “Oniomania” (an uncontrollable desire to buy things), compulsive buying (CB) was first documented clinically in the early 20th century (Kraepelin, 1915; Bleuler, 1930). Despite its recognition as a psychiatric problem nearly 100 years ago, little attention was paid to CB until the late 1980s. In their paper Compulsive Buying: A Phenomological Exploration, O’Guinn and Faber (1989) suggested CB was simply one expression of a category of behaviors termed “compulsive consumption”. O’Guinn and Faber (1989) described those engaging in CB as individuals who “buy not so much to obtain utility or service from a purchased commodity as to achieve gratification through the buying process itself.” Although never officially recognized as a mental disorder by the DSM, clinical reports in the 1990s further defined CB as a unique psychiatric disorder. In one sample, Christenson et al. (1994) described a group of 24 compulsive buyers for whom buying “led to negative social, occupational, financial, or legal consequences and/or stated that compulsive shopping caused them significant personal distress.” All of the subjects with CB described uncontrollable buying urges and feelings of mounting tension, which could only be relieved by shopping. During the act of buying, individuals reported a mixture of positive and negative emotions. Immediately after buying, individuals with CB generally reported a sense of relief or gratification. After these initial positive feelings, however, negative feelings typically developed. Criteria for CB typically includes: buying behaviors that are uncontrollable, buying behaviors that lead to distress, excessive consumption of time, and social, work, or financial difficulties, and buying behaviors not accounted for by other psychiatric disorders (McElroy et al., 1994). Consequences from CB can include guilt, remorse, financial debt, family problems, and legal problems (resulting from illegal attempts to attain money for buying) (Christenson et al., 1994; O’Guinn and Faber, 1989; Faber, 2004; Black, 2007). Individuals who meet criteria for CB have been found to have significantly higher rates of mood, anxiety, and impulse control disorders (ICD) compared to the general population (Black et al., 1998). Prevalence and demographic makeup of individuals with CB remain unclear. In 2001, prevalence of CB was estimated at between 1.8–8.1%, with potentially 80–95% of those meeting Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres Psychiatry Research 0165-1781/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2013.08.048 n Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 773 834 1325; fax: þ1 773 834 6761. E-mail address: jongrant@uchicago.edu (J.E. Grant). Psychiatry Research 210 (2013) 1079–1085