At what
point does click-bait susceptibility become a mental health disorder?
Elsevier
 |
| Arise Network |
These patients tended to be younger than the others in the study sample, experienced greater levels of anxiety and depression, and were likely to exhibit a higher severity of BSD symptoms.
"It really is time to recognize
BSD as separate mental health condition and to accumulate further knowledge
about BSD on the Internet," explained lead investigator Astrid Müller, MD,
PhD, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical
School, Hannover, Germany.
At present, BSD is not categorized as a separate mental health condition; it is characterized as "other specified impulse control disorder" in the recently released 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases.
At present, BSD is not categorized as a separate mental health condition; it is characterized as "other specified impulse control disorder" in the recently released 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases.
BSD is a cross-national problem that
afflicts an estimated five percent of the population. It is characterized by
extreme preoccupation with and craving for buying and/or shopping, as well as
irresistible and identity-seeking urges to possess consumer goods.
Patients with BSD buy more consumer goods than they can afford, need, or use. Their excessive purchasing serves to regulate emotions, e.g., to get pleasure, relief from negative feelings or cope with self-discrepancy.
In the long run, the recurrent breakdown in self-control leads to extreme distress, psychiatric comorbidity, familial discord, clutter due to pathological hoarding of goods, and indebtedness and/or deception and embezzlement to enable continued spending despite insufficient finances.
Patients with BSD buy more consumer goods than they can afford, need, or use. Their excessive purchasing serves to regulate emotions, e.g., to get pleasure, relief from negative feelings or cope with self-discrepancy.
In the long run, the recurrent breakdown in self-control leads to extreme distress, psychiatric comorbidity, familial discord, clutter due to pathological hoarding of goods, and indebtedness and/or deception and embezzlement to enable continued spending despite insufficient finances.
As e-commerce has gained increasing
popularity as a primary method for buying and shopping for goods over the past
decade, a need has developed for mental health experts to explore whether
traditional BSD manifests differently in the online retail market.
The Internet offers a vast variety of shopping information and simultaneous access to many online stores, thereby meeting expectations for immediate reward, emotional enhancement, and identity gain.
The Internet offers a vast variety of shopping information and simultaneous access to many online stores, thereby meeting expectations for immediate reward, emotional enhancement, and identity gain.
Previous studies showed that certain
Internet-specific aspects of buying and shopping, such as availability,
anonymity, accessibility, and affordability, contribute to the development of
an online subtype of BSD.
However, there is a paucity of studies investigating addictive online shopping as a phenotype of BSD related to the problematic use of the Internet. This study, which analyzed data from earlier studies reporting on 122 treatment-seeking patients, is among the first to quantify and explore the phenomenon of online shopping in BSD diagnosed-patients.
However, there is a paucity of studies investigating addictive online shopping as a phenotype of BSD related to the problematic use of the Internet. This study, which analyzed data from earlier studies reporting on 122 treatment-seeking patients, is among the first to quantify and explore the phenomenon of online shopping in BSD diagnosed-patients.
Dr. Müller added, "We hope that
our results showing that the prevalence of addictive online shopping among
treatment-seeking patients with BSD will encourage future research addressing
the distinct phenomenological characteristics, underlying features, associated
comorbidity, and specific treatment concepts."
