Date Approved

2006

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department or School

Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology

Committee Member

Roger Kernsmith, PhD, Chair

Committee Member

Jay Weinstein, PhD

Abstract

Drawing on messages collected from an internet support group, this paper examines the motivations and dimensions of compulsive shopping as an addictive disorder. Two thousand nonrandom internet messages were collected and subjected to content analyses, resulting in a final sample of 197 subjects. Factor analyses and logistical regression models found varying motivations for compulsive shopping that were not mutually exclusive: the need to escape and the need to fill a void. Subsequently, compulsive shoppers with these motivations were found to manage their shopping differently, specifically in terms of help-seeking behaviors and organizational behaviors.

Included in

Sociology Commons

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