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Shopping addicts need help

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Compulsive shopping is a serious problem in Britain according to researchers at Sussex. At present there are no therapeutic services set up to deal specifically with compulsive shoppers. Yet research, carried out by psychologists Helga Dittmar (SOC), Jane Beattie (BIOLS) and Susanne Friese (BIOLS), indicates that the problem, which can leave sufferers financially crippled, needs to be recognised for the serious addiction that it is.

The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, used quantitive and qualitative methods in a combination of interview, diary, survey and experimental studies to examine both what people buy impulsively and compulsively, and why. The researchers compared volunteers with a group of ordinary shoppers, matched for socio-economic status and other characteristics. They hope that the findings of the survey will form the building blocks for a greater understanding of compulsive shopping, leading to relief for the very large numbers of people who are afflicted with 'shopaholism'.

Preliminary findings show that shopping addicts experience a large discrepancy between the way they see themselves (the actual-self) and the way they wish to be (the ideal-self). They attempt to use material possessions in order to compensate for this discrepancy, believing that such items will bring them closer to their ideal selves. Those with low materialistic tendencies might instead turn to compensation strategies such as alcoholism or eating disorders, whereas those with high materialistic tendencies are more prone to becoming compulsive shoppers.

Four studies recently carried out in the USA, Germany, Canada and the UK indicate that between 2-10% of the adult population have at least some compulsive shopping tendencies. "When scaled against the adult population of Britain this amounts to a substantial number of people, even by conservative estimates, and enough to warrant at least some form of counselling service," said Helgar.

Existing debt counselling services are only helpful inasmuch as they focus upon the financial effects of compulsive shopping. "They are tailored to help people deal with accumulated personal debt, but they are not specifically established to deal with shopping addiction," said Helgar. "There is financial stress with shopping addiction, but you can have personal debt without being a shopping addict. They are not synonymous. There has to be therapeutic work either on self-conflict, improving perceptions of self, or finding different compensation strategies that are less destructive. Budgetary plans are important but not sufficient."

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Friday January 17th 1997