Citation

Kaur K, Mearns J. J. Clin. Psychol. (Hoboken) 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jclp.23103

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Two studies investigated childhood maltreatment, alexithymia-the inability to identify one's mood-and negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE)-confidence that one can alleviate one's negative moods-as predictors of compulsive buying (CB).

METHOD: Participants were recruited from internet CB forums and undergraduate psychology classes. Online, they completed questionnaires and a behavioral task that assessed impulsive spending.

RESULTS: In Study 1 (N = 646), analyses indicated that NMRE, alexithymia, and childhood maltreatment were significant independent predictors of CB. For Study 2, a subset of participants from the Study 1 pool (N = 295) who met the criterion for clinical levels of CB were selected, based on their self-report. Analyses revealed that NMRE buffered the effect of maltreatment: among participants with high NMRE-higher levels of maltreatment were associated with minimal increases in CB and impulsive spending behavior.

CONCLUSION: Being confident that one can control one's unpleasant moods was a protective factor from the maladaptive consequences of childhood maltreatment. Increasing NMRE early in psychotherapy for CB may result in clients' using more adaptive coping strategies.

Language: en

Keywords

alexithymia; childhood maltreatment; compulsive buying; impulse control; mood regulation