title: Impulsivity and compulsive buying are associated in a non-clinical sample: an evidence for the compulsivity-impulsivity continuum?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Compulsive buying is controversial in clinical psychiatry. Although it is defined as an obsessive-compulsive disorder, other personality aspects besides compulsivity are related to compulsive buying. Recent studies suggest that compulsivity and impulsivity might represent a continuum, with several psychiatric disorders lying between these two extremes. In this sense, and following the perspective of dimensional psychiatry, symptoms of impulsivity and compulsivity should correlate even in a non-clinical sample. The present study aims to investigate whether these two traits are associated in a healthy adult sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated 100 adults, with no self-reported psychiatric disorders, using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 and two scales of compulsive buying.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using multiple linear regressions, we found that impulsivity accounted for about 15% of variance in the compulsive-buying measure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that an association between impulsivity and compulsive buying occurs even in non-clinical samples, evidence that compulsivity and impulsivity might form a continuum and that compulsive buying might be an intermediate condition between these two personality traits.
authors.affiliation: National Science and Technology Institute for Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, BR.
authors.forename: Jonas J de
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Paula
authors.affiliation: National Science and Technology Institute for Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, BR.
authors.forename: Danielle de S
authors.initials: Dde S
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, BR.
authors.forename: Flavianne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, BR.
authors.forename: Joana O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, BR.
authors.forename: Lídia R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Passos
authors.affiliation: National Science and Technology Institute for Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, BR.
authors.forename: Leandro F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Malloy-Diniz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003132:Commerce; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003193:Compulsive Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult