Compulsive Buying: The Role of Irrational Beliefs, Materialism, and Narcissism

Our goal was to examine how irrational beliefs, materialism, and narcissism relate to and predict compulsive buying. One hundred and fifty-five (155) undergraduate women completed the Compulsive-Buying Scale, the Irrational Beliefs Inventory, the Material Values Scale-Short Form, and the 16-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory. As expected, irrational beliefs and materialism were correlated and predicted compulsive buying. Additionally, irrational beliefs were associated with compulsive buying only for those who scored high in narcissism. Examining the Irrational Beliefs Inventory subscales, Problem Avoidance and Rigidity were the sole subscales that predicted compulsive buying. Implications for the amelioration and treatment of compulsive buying are discussed.