title: Prevalence study of compulsive buying in a sample with low individual monthly income.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Compulsive buying can be characterized as an almost irresistible impulse to acquire various items. This is a current issue and the prevalence rate in the global population is around 5 to 8%. Some surveys indicate that the problem is growing in young and low-income populations.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the prevalence of compulsive buying among people with low personal monthly incomes and analyze relationships with socio-demographic data.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Compulsive Buying Scale was administered to screen for compulsive buying and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess anxiety and depression in a sample of 56 participants. Pearson coefficients were used to test for correlations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicated that 44.6% presented an average family income equal to or greater than 2.76 minimum wages. It is possible that compulsive buying is not linked to the purchasing power since it was found in a low-income population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the small sample, the results of this study are important for understanding the problem in question.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Priscilla Lourenço
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriana Cardoso
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult