Assessment of heterogeneity of compulsive buyers based on affective antecedents of buying lapses

Abstract

Although compulsive buying has been predominantly viewed as the chronic need to manage negative affective states, other emotions, such as positive affect and boredom, have also been reported to precede buying lapses among compulsive buyers. The main objectives of this article were to: (1) empirically examine the centrality of the frequent experience of negative affect prior to buying lapses in compulsive buying, and (2) assess the heterogeneity of compulsive buyers based on the frequency of experiencing negative affect, boredom, and positive affect that precede buying lapses. To examine these issues, we used survey data provided by individuals with excessive buying tendencies (N = 419). Latent profile analysis of the frequency of the three types of affective states extracted three clusters of buyers: (1) the "escape seeker" cluster with a strong propensity to buy in excess in negative emotions, (2) the "excitement seeker" cluster that reported having lapsed when feeling boredom more frequently than negative affect, and (3) the "low affect management buyer" cluster whose frequency of experiencing the three types of emotions was lower than the other clusters. The majority of escape seekers and excitement seekers exceeded the diagnostic cut-off for compulsive buying. Clinical implications of the findings are also discussed.