Shopping o acquisto compulsivo: una rassegna della letteratura scientifica

Background

Compulsive shopping or buying is a condition characterized by frequent uncontrollable purchasing activity that is unrelated to the individual's actual needs or economic means. The phenomenon emerged a few decades ago and has been growing in frequency since then.

This review examines studies conducted on compulsive shopping/buying and highlights the most important aspects and points of view that have emerged from the ongoing debate.

Materials and methods

We conducted a search of PubMed, Psychiatryonline, and PsichoInfo for literature on this subject published during the past few decades. The search terms used were: Compulsive disorders, Impulse control disorders, Compulsive buying, Compulsive shopping, Oniomania, and Behavioral addictions.

Results

Shopping is a very common activity in today's society, and most people make unwise or irresponsible purchases on occasion, particularly during periods of stress. There is a general consensus in the literature, however, that when this behavior becomes chronic and causes serious personal, relational, and social problems, the individual is incapable of controlling his/her impulses to buy. In these cases, most authors would classify the behavior as an obsessive-compulsive disorder, impulse control disorder, or behavioral addiction. Hypotheses on the causes of the disorder focus variably on developmental, psychological, psychodynamic, neurobiological, and the influence of socio-cultural factors, but few are supported by conclusive scientific evidence. The proposed treatments involve integrated approaches that can be adjusted to the individual case in terms of the severity of the disorder and the possibility of change.

Discussion and conclusions

Several studies have highlighted that in certain cases shopping can become extreme and clearly dysfunctional, but debate continues over the inclusion of compulsive shopping in the clinical and diagnostic categories.