The personality trait is linked to alcoholism and other types of substance misuse, problem gambling and even shopping addiction.
Neuroticism is the personality trait often linked to addiction — including shopping addiction, research finds.
Shopping can provide a way of escaping the unpleasant thoughts that neurotic people are more likely to experience.
Neuroticism is characterised by negative thinking in a range of areas.
Neuroticism — one of the five major aspects of personality — is a trait that is strongly linked to anxiety, sadness, irritability and self-consciousness.
Many types of addiction have been linked to neuroticism, including alcoholism and other types of substance misuse and problem gambling.
The study on shopping addiction included 23,537 people who were given tests of personality, self-esteem and shopping behaviours.
Dr Cecilie Schou Andreassen, the study’s first author, explained the results:
“Our research indicates that people who score high on extroversion and neuroticism are more at risk of developing shopping addiction.
Extroverts, typically being social and sensation seeking, may be using shopping to express their individuality or enhance their social status and personal attractiveness.
Neurotic people, who typically are anxious, depressive, and self-conscious, may use shopping as a means of reducing their negative feelings.”
Personality is not the only factor linked to shopping addiction though, said Dr Andreassen:
“Addictive shopping clearly occurs more regularly amongst certain demographic groups.
It is more predominant in women, and is typically initiated in late adolescence and emerging adulthood, and it appears to decrease with age.”
In contrast, people at low risk of shopping addiction tend to be more agreeable, conscientious and open to new experiences with higher levels of self-control.
Dr Andreassen said:
“We have also found that shopping addiction is related to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem, and shopping may function as an escape mechanism for, or coping with, unpleasant feelings – although shopping addiction may also lead to such symptoms.”
Seven signs of shopping addiction
The symptoms of shopping addiction are closely related to other addictions like alcoholism and substance addictions.
Here are the seven signs of shopping addiction:
- You think about shopping/buying things all the time.
- You shop/buy things in order to change your mood.
- You shop/buy so much that it negatively affects your daily obligations (e.g., school and work).
- You feel you have to shop/buy more and more to obtain the same satisfaction as before.
- You have decided to shop/buy less, but have not been able to do so.
- You feel bad if you for some reason are prevented from shopping/buying things.
- You shop/buy so much that it has impaired your well-being.
‘Agreeing’ or ‘completely agreeing’ with at least four of these seven statements indicates a possible shopping addiction.
The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychlogy (Andreassen et al., 2015).
