Debt out of control: The links between self-control, compulsive buying, and real debts

By Anja Achtziger, Mirja Hubert, Peter Kenning, G. Raab, L. Reisch. 2015

259 citations recorded by the source corpus.

In a representative sample of the German population (n=946), we explored the links between self-control, compulsive buying, and debts. Participants completed the self-control scale (Tangney, Boone, & Baumeister, 2004) and the German Addictive Buying Scale (Raab, Neuner, Reisch, & Scherhorn, 2005). Additionally, they gave information about their real debts. It was observed that self-control was negatively related to debts while compulsive buying was positively related to debts. Detailed analyses revealed that the link between self-control and debts was fully mediated by compulsive buying. Finally, there was a gender effect on compulsive buying: women were more prone to compulsive buying than men. Age also was significantly negatively related to compulsive buying and positively linked to self-control. Household income was not linked to self-control, compulsive buying, and debts. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Information Systems and Management, Marketing

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9caf9ac91bd6e14f52b49754d521f9f020bd09a7

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Applied Psychology

1. Arnold Japutra
2. Lyndon Simkin
3. Rr. Iramani
4. Lutfi Lutfi
5. Daniel Västfjäll
6. Y. Ekinci

In Information Systems and Management

1. Arnold Japutra
2. Lyndon Simkin
3. Y. Ekinci

In Marketing

1. Arnold Japutra
2. Lyndon Simkin
3. Daniel Västfjäll
4. Y. Ekinci
5. K. Kaplanidou
6. A. Apostolopoulou
7. D. Papadimitriou

Citations in the corpus

• Self-congruence, brand attachment and compulsive buying (2017, background): “may end up with high level of debt as well as social and family problems (Achtziger et al., 2015; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989).”
• Does self-control predict financial behavior and financial well-being? (2017, background): “Previous research has shown that these variables influence financial behaviors (Achtziger et al., 2015; Biljanovska and Palligkinis, 2015; Fernandes et al., 2014).”
• An integrated model of financial well-being: The role of financial behavior (2021, background): “Problems in self-control can lead to unplanned spending (Gathergood, 2012), excessive debt (Achtziger et al., 2015), and inadequate retirement funds (Kim et al., 2016).”