Compulsive Buying Behaviour, Anxiety and Emotional Adjustment Among Late Adolescents During the COVID – 19 Pandemic: A Correlation and Gender Study

Compulsive buying or shopping addiction is a mental and behavioural health condition characterized by persistent, excessive, impulsive and uncontrollable desire to shop and spend in spite of severe psychological, social, occupational and financial consequences. Their entire pattern of living surrounds this behaviour and caters to this need. It has an effect on mood, anger, stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, adjustment issues, eating and sleeping patterns. Persons suffering from the disorder tend to understand and evaluate their feelings poorly and have low tolerance for unpleasant psychological states such as negative moods. Engaging in such behaviour for long can lead to feelings of regret, remorse, shame, guilt and even depression in some. Purchases are made in order to improve mood, cope with stress, gain social approval, recognition and improve self-image etc. In accordance, the present study has been undertaken with a perspective based on previous research and data available that onset of the disorder occurs in the late teens and gradually turns chronic, as such this particular vulnerable stratum of society needs to be understood better. Also, a review of the previous literature highlighted the gender discrepancies in studies on this behavior with most studies done on adults and women.  Furthermore, the COVID- 19 pandemic period witnessed unprecedented restrictions imposed on all aspects of life including the desire to compulsively buy. This led to further complicating the ‘desire to buy urge’ and consequent mental health challenges. As such, the present study was undertaken during the COVID -19 pandemic to understand the correlation and gender differences between compulsive buying behavior, anxiety and emotional adjustment among late adolescents. The sample for the study was collected in the month of April, 2020 during the period of total lockdown from the District of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and comprised an online screening of 430 teen in the age group of 16-18 years of which 100 adolescents (50 females and 50 males) were chosen for the study through purposive sampling. The inclusion criteria required belonging to upper middle socio-economic class (10-25 lakh annual income) to ensure a certain financial stability and exclusion criteria was having any other stressors, co morbidities, physical and psychological concerns. Results obtained showed a significant correlation between the three variables: compulsive buying behaviour, anxiety and emotional adjustment. While compulsive buying behaviour and anxiety showed a significant positive correlation, a significant negative correlation was found between compulsive buying behaviour and emotional adjustment as well as anxiety and emotional adjustment. Significant gender differences were also found between female and male groups on compulsive buying behaviour and anxiety with females showing higher CBB and anxiety while a nonsignificant difference was found between the groups on emotional adjustment with males facing slightly higher emotional adjustment challenges as compared to females.