The estimated monetary cost of compulsive buying (CB) for a random sample of men and women was significant and the fact that the monetary cost of CB is not trivial suggests that individuals are both consciously and unconsciously plagued by their CB, according to a recent study. Participants were selected from a community-based sample of residents in 2 New York counties (n=548). The participants were followed from adolescence to early midlife (55% female; >90% white; mean age at the most recent interview, 43.0 [SD=2.8]). Researchers found:

• Linear regression analyses showed that compulsive buying was significantly associated with quality of life, despite controlling for relevant demographic and psychosocial factors.
• Compulsive buying was adversely associated with quality of life.
• Household income was positively associated with quality of life.