by Playfuls Staff |
3rd October 2006
U.S. scientists say, contrary to popular opinion, nearly as many men as women experience compulsive buying disorder [more] -- a condition marked by binge buying.
Senior author Dr. Lorrin Koran, emeritus professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, said the study is the first large, nationwide effort to assess the prevalence of the disorder. The study found more than 1-in-20 adults in the United States suffer from the condition.
People who have compulsive buying disorder -- sometimes called compulsive shopping disorder -- are often struck with an irresistible, intrusive and often senseless impulse to buy. Sufferers often compile thousands of dollars in debt and lie to loved ones about their purchases. The consequences can be bankruptcy, divorce, embezzlement and suicide attempts.
Koran emphasized that type of shopping and buying is not the same as occasional impulse buying, in which many people engage.
Prior to the new study, researchers estimated compulsive buying disorder affected between 2 percent and 16 percent of the U.S. population and that 90 percent of sufferers were women.
The new study is detailed in the October issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
© 2006 UPI
