"The Internet companies are making illogical conclusions that say if people bought these books and this sweater, they need this music. It is scary how often this works and people end up buying things they don't need," Hine says.
Shopping behaviors often turn compulsive when people buy unnecessary items. Wiley admits she is a compulsive shopper.
"When I get home after buying something, I realize that I didn't really need what I bought. A lot of the stuff I have, I really didn't need, but it all looked cute at the time," she says.
Compulsive shopping has become more prevalent in our society. It is estimated that 2-8 percent of the U.S. adult population suffers from compulsive shopping, with a female-to-male ratio approaching 9-to-1. Compulsive shopping is considered an "impulse-control disorder" that is linked with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and is characterized by impulsive and repetitive shopping, often resulting in personal, familial and financial distress.
Dr. Lorrin Koran studies compulsive shopping as the director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Clinic at Stanford University Medical Center. He found himself treating patients for the disorder, but realized that there had been very little research done on compulsive shopping and decided to conduct a study to learn more about it. It isn't
more about it. It isn't known as to why people become compulsive shoppers, but credit is part of the problem. "It starts young, when we first have money or credit cards and the problem is made worse
because it is so easy to get " credit," he says. Half of the United States' population has at least $4,000 worth of credit card debt.
Credit cards are what got Wiley in trouble. It started when her mother
signed her up for a Visa card with a $250 limit so that she could begin to establish credit. She now has that card and another, and both have balances. The money she makes at Target goes toward the payments for her credit card bills, and she continues to charge the items she buys. "If I buy one more thing and it's $25, it's really not going to make that big of a difference on my balance, so I just keep on buying," she says.
Her problem is not only causing financial difficulties. When she shops, she feels guilty and hides it from those close to her. Her parents know that she is in debt, but they don't know the extent. She also finds herself sneaking anything she buys into her apartment so that her roommates can't see. "My roommates know that I have debt from my credit cards, and they get frustrated because they know I'm buying things that I don't need," says Wiley.
Compulsive shoppers in Koran's study also had relationship problems. The majority of participants admitted that their families had suffered from their urge to shop. The participant's significant others would often ask such questions as, "Why are you filling the house with things we don't need?" and "Why are you at the mall when you should be home with the kids or with me?" Koran says that having to find answers to these questions when the cause of their behavior is unknown can be a difficult thing to handle.
Thus far, the results of Koran's study are promising. In order to qualify for the study, the participants were required to have a high score on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale—Shopping Version (YBOCS-SV) and had to be shopping at least once a week. Once chosen, the 19 women and two men were given a relatively low
dose of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor called citalopram, which is primarily used for depression and anxiety. After a 12-week period, 80 percent of the participants responded, with lower YBOCS-SV scores and a lesser urge to shop. "So far, I am very impressed with the degree and speed in which the participants got better," Koran says. "They have gone from shopping compulsively to going to the shopping center with friends and get
the shopping center with friends and not buying anything, which is quite dramatic."
Although Koran's study incorporates drug-treatment, it may not be the only way for people to curb their shopping habits. Koran says there have been documented responses to psychotherapy as well, and self-help may be possible. "You should ask yourself—are you buying things you don't use, are you out shopping when you should be doing other things, are you in trouble either financially or with friends or family? If the answer to those questions is yes, you might have a problem. If the answer is no, you probably don't. The important thing is to seek some sort of treatment before it creates more of a problem," he says.
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- Erica Brittain can be reached at ebritt@ku.edu.
2.5.06 jobloy