In this study, the authors investigated the relationship between compulsive buying and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptomatology--two disorders possibly linked through impulsivity. Using a survey methodology in a cross-sectional consecutive sample of nonemergent female outpatients from an obstetrics/gynecology clinic, the authors assessed compulsive buying with the compulsive buying scale (CBS) and BPD symptomatology through the BPD scale of the personality diagnostic questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4) and the self-harm Inventory (SHI). In this sample, 8% of Caucasian women and 9% of African-American women scored positively for compulsive buying. The correlations between scores on the CBS and the PDQ-4 and SHI were 0.43 and 0.41, respectively-both statistically significant at the p < .001 level. Compared to Caucasian women, African-American women demonstrated statistical associations between the BPD measures and the CBS scale scores that were significantly larger. Findings suggest relationships between compulsive buying and BPD, particularly among African-American women.

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Findings indicate that various forms of childhood trauma are correlated with compulsive buying behavior, particularly witnessing violence and emotional abuse.

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The extant literature indicates possible associations between compulsive buying, and alcohol and drug misuse. For example, in a sample of 46 adults with compulsive buying, researchers reported lifetime rates of substance abuse at 30%. 1 In a study of 111 adolescents, Roberts and Tanner found significant associations between compulsive buying and alcohol/drug use. 2 In a study of compulsive buying and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Lejoyeux and colleagues reported that patients with both syndromes (n = 14) evidenced higher scores on an alcohol assessment than obsessive-compulsive participants only (n = 46) and controls. 3 Among studies with less direct data, researchers found associations between compulsive buying and nicotine use, and nicotine use and higher intake of alcohol per day, 4 as well as that the first-degree relatives of compulsive buyers were more likely than controls to suffer from alcohol and/or drug use disorders. 5 We only found one paper with questionable findings, but compulsive buying was grouped with other impulse disorders for analyses. 6 Because of the preceding associations, we hypothesized a relationship between compulsive buying and self-reported alcohol/drug use in a sample of female outpatients.Participants were 380 consecutive females, who were seeking nonemergent care through a university-affiliated obstetrics/gynecology outpatient clinic. Exclusion criteria were intellectual, medical, psychiatric, and/or cognitive impairment of sufficient severity that would preclude the successful completion of a survey.The average age of participants was 26.22 years (SD = 7.56), ranging from 15 to 61 years. Most participants were Caucasian (54.4%) or African American (38.7%). Approximately 88% of participants had at least a high school diploma and 13% had completed college. The majority were never married (72.9%), with 16.4% being married, 6.8% divorced, and the remaining 3.8% separated or widowed. About 80% reported government insurance; 5.5% were privately insured; and 14.3% had no insurance or elected to self-pay.As patients arrived at the clinic, one researcher (JC) solicited each, informally assessed exclusion criteria, and invited candidates to complete a four-page survey. The cover page of the survey contained the elements of informed consent, and completion of the survey was presumed to be implied consent (specified on the cover page). The research survey contained: (1) two items to assess alcohol/substance use (ie, "Have you ever had a problem with alcohol?" and "Have you ever had a problem with drugs?"); and (2) the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), a seven-item self-report measure with Likert-style response options. 7 The CBS has good criterion validity as well as good face and construct validity. 7 Total scores were calculated based on the average of the seven items, with possible total scores ranging from 1 to 5. In the current sample, the internal consistency reliability estimate was .75 (coefficient alpha). This project was approved by an institutional review board. Data were collected ...

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