title: Estimated prevalence of compulsive buying in Germany and its association with sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms.
abstract: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of compulsive buying and its association with sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of the German population using the validated German version of the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS; Faber and O'Guinn, 1992) in order to have a direct comparison with U.S. findings. The point prevalence of compulsive buying in the weighted representative sample (N=2,350) was estimated to be 6.9%. This was somewhat higher than the percentage in the American sample assessed in 2004 (5.8%). No significant difference was found between women and men (6.9% and 6.8%, respectively). Age was inversely related to the prevalence of compulsive buying. Individuals with compulsive buying reported more depressive symptoms assessed via the German version of the Brief Patient Health Questionnaire Mood Scale (PHQ-9). Further research on this topic is needed to establish a clearer delineation of when excessive buying is clinically significant and should be treated and how it could be prevented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Germany. astrid.mueller@uk-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Ross D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Crosby
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gefeller
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Faber
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bleich
authors.forename: Heide
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Glaesmer
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Exner
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Zwaan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018672:Community Health Planning; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult