Perceived stress and compulsive buying among Saudi adults: the mediation role of rumination

Abstract

Objectives/background

Prior studies have claimed that people engage in compulsive buying in an attempt to deal with stress. Nonetheless, not every stressed person engages in compulsive buying. It is therefore important to investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying such behavior. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying, and the mediation role of rumination. In particular, the study focused on these relationships among Saudi adults.

Method

The study used a convenience sampling method and a cross-sectional design. A sample of 455 Saudi adults participated (mean age = 32.7, SD = 11.13, 73.8% women). Respondents completed the Edwards Compulsive Buying Scale Revised, the Ruminative Responses Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships among the study variables.

Results

The study tested two dimensions of rumination, brooding rumination and reflection rumination. Perceived stress was positively associated with compulsive buying. However, when the mediation variables of brooding rumination and reflection rumination were introduced into the model, brooding fully mediated the relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying, but reflection did not mediate this relationship.

Conclusion

It appears that brooding rumination plays an important role in the development and sustaining of compulsive buying behaviors following stressful experiences.

Introduction

Researchers have argued that for some people, shopping is a form of entertainment and leisure that is inherently rewarding [1, 2]. However, when people engage in extreme buying, the effects may be detrimental to the buyers [3]. Research has reported a prevalence of compulsive buying behaviors between 4.9% and 16.2%, with variability according to the characteristics of the sample, where younger and female respondents tend to report higher prevalence [3, 4]. In Saudi Arabia, Amin and colleagues reported a prevalence of 11% in female students and 7.2% in male students [5]. There are many negative outcomes of compulsive buying behaviors, including debt impacting the ability to pay one’s bills, legal problems, guilt, marital conflict, and criticism from family and friends [6, 7]. Compulsive buyers are often characterized by a high level of anxiety that is only alleviated when they purchase something [8]. However, not every distressed person will actually engage in compulsive buying, suggesting the need to examine the cognitive mechanisms underlying these relationships.

There are many mechanisms though which compulsive buying could operate. The cognitive behavioral model of compulsive buying postulates that there are internal and external triggers of compulsive buying, including negative childhood experiences, depression, anxiety, negative affect, and distress [9]. Among these triggers of compulsive buying, the literature has postulated other psychiatric disorders such as personality disorders and substance abuse [10]. Another well-articulated mechanism of compulsive buying in the literature is materialism. In a systematic and meta-analytic study, Barbieri and colleagues found that materialism was correlated with compulsive buying [11]. This is not surprising given the fact that materialism is associated with anxiety, depression, and gambling disorders [12], which characterize people who perceive that owning material things is the ultimate way to happiness and well-being. In Saudi Arabia, studies report an increasing materialistic orientation especially among the youth mostly due to social media, and compulsive buying is also following the same pattern [13, 14].

While there seems to be multiple mechanisms of compulsive buying, the literature shows that current distress is among the strongest contributors [15]. Prior stressful, even traumatic, experiences [16, 17] and current distress and negative affect may lead to negative coping mechanisms, such as excessive buying habits. In fact, Mrad and Cui defined compulsive buying as excessive and repeated purchasing of unnecessary goods in an attempt to cope with stress [18]. According to the theory of Conservation of Resources (COR), people tend to escape stressful situations by finding ways to replenish resources [19]. As such, not only do people obtain new material resources when they buy, but also acquire positive emotional resources that help block the negative emotions of stress and distress.

Many studies in many countries have sought to understand this relationship between stress and compulsive buying [2, 20–22]. However, few studies have studied compulsive buying in the context of Saudi Arabia. Basyouni used a quasi-experimental design to test the effectiveness of a program to reduce compulsive buying in a subset sample of Saudis [23]. They reported that the intervention was successful in reducing compulsive buying in a sample of female students. Among Saudi consumers, it was also found that those who engaged in compulsive buying episodes experienced subsequent regret [24]. Another study among Saudi college students revealed that the prevalence of compulsive buying was higher in females [5]. Nonetheless, no study in Saudi Arabia has examined the association between perceived stress and compulsive buying thereby showing its underlying cognitive mechanisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying, and the potential mediation role of rumination, in a sample of Saudi adults.

Perceived stress and compulsive buying

Many studies have sought to establish a relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying. For example, increased academic stress was associated with compulsive buying behaviors in a sample of adolescents [21]. Somer and Ruvio found that stress related to traumatic events was also related to compulsive buying behaviors, but concluded that the pleasures derived from buying cannot alleviate trauma-related stress [20]. Death-related stress was also related to episodes of compulsive buying [25]. During the recent pandemic, researchers documented the finding that the stress related to COVID-19 increased compulsive buying behaviors [22, 26, 27].

Evidence of the stress and compulsive buying relationship was also established in Asian countries. Eslami and Ghaderi found in a sample of Iranian women who shopped online that perceived stress was associated with compulsive buying, and that this was mediated by negative coping [2]. Perceived stress and anxiety were found to be associated with compulsive buying in a sample of Pakistani adults [28]. Similar results have been found in Indian adolescents [29], Chinese women [30] and Malaysian adults [31]. All this evidence indicates a positive relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying.

We therefore assert the first hypothesis of our study:

H1: Stress will be associated with compulsive buying.

The mediating role of rumination

Despite the well-documented relationship between stress and compulsive buying, the mechanisms through which this relationship operates have been neglected in the literature. There are situations wherein people become stressed in settings where they are able to engage in compulsive buying, it is possible that cognitive mechanisms come into play when at a later time, stress-related cognitions persevere [32] and these people engage in compulsive buying to alleviate the enduring effects of stress. Among these psychological mechanisms, rumination appears to be a plausible mediating process of this relationship.

Rumination is defined as a set of repetitive, persistent, and often prolonged negative thoughts about one’s own feelings, mood, personal problems, and bad experiences [33]. The Response Style Theory [34] conceptualized rumination as repetitive thoughts about the causes, meanings, and consequences of one’s own negative emotions. There are two dimensions of rumination: brooding and reflection. Brooding is a form perseverative thinking on one’s negative experiences and mood, while reflection is the search for reasons why one is feeling in a particular way [35]. Although many studies have examined rumination as a whole, these two rumination sub-types have been found to exhibit differential effects. Researchers have shown brooding rumination to be more predictive of negative outcomes, while reflation was more neutral in the relationships [36, 37]. Nonetheless, studies that used rumination as a whole reported negative associations. Rumination has been found to have a negative causal effect on mood, which may exacerbate emotional problems [38], and other experimental studies have also shown that rumination worsens emotional problems, including anxiety, depression, sadness, and anger [39, 40]. Watkins et al. also found that rumination exaggerates emotional reactivity to stressful experiences [41]. In a sample of adolescents, rumination predicted bullying victimization from peers [42, 43]. In a sample of patients with depressive symptoms, rumination was associated with problematic relationships and interpersonal styles [44, 45]. Rumination has been positively related to loneliness and negatively associated with overall well-being [46]. Rumination was also found to be associated with depression in a longitudinal study of older adults [47]. Other studies found that rumination was related to PTSD, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, and eating problems [48]. A meta-analysis by Aldao et al. also concluded that rumination plays a role in the onset of alcohol abuse, eating disorders, anxiety, and depression [49]. Longitudinal studies further confirmed the association of rumination with subsequent eating problems and substance abuse [50], alcohol abuse [51], and PTSD [52], even when accounting for symptoms at baseline. Gan and colleagues found that rumination mediated the relationship between loneliness and depression [47] and Borawski determined that rumination was a mediator between loneliness and pleasure [46]. In this study, we differentiate between the mediation of brooding rumination and reflection rumination. Consistent with the above, we hypothesize that brooding rumination and reflection rumination will mediate the relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying.

H2: Brooding rumination will mediate the relationship between stress and compulsive buying.

H3: Reflection rumination will mediate the relationship between stress and compulsive buying.

Methods

Participants and procedure

This study employed a convenience sampling method and a cross-sectional design. Permission to conduct this study was provided by King AbdulAziz University. A Google form containing the questionnaire was formulated and sent to respondents via online media platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and email. Around 586 Saudi adults agreed to take part in this study, but only 455 returned a completed survey and they represent our study sample. Participants were informed of the purpose and intended outcome of the survey and they provided informed consent. Participation was voluntary and to ensure anonymity, their responses were not traceable at the individual level. The mean age was 32.7 with a standard deviation of 11.13. Around 73.8% of the respondents were female, 24.4% had less than high school education, 52.4% had a bachelor’s degree, and 23.2% had a graduate degree. About 30.4% were students, 32.2% were employed workers, 4.2% were self-employed, 3.4% were retired, 17.8% unemployed, and 12% were homemakers. Around 26.4% had a monthly family income less than 5000 SR, 27.8% had income between 5000 and 10,000 SR, 17.8% between 10,000 and 15,000 SR, 13.4% between 15,000 and 20,000 SR, and 14.6% had a family income of greater than 20,000 SR (see Table 2).

Table 2.

socio-demographic characteristics, mean, and SD per category

		n	%	Lack of control	Mood modification	Guilt	Unnecessary buying
Gender
	Female	336	73.8	9.13	24.38	11.47	7.20
	Male	119	26.2	10.16	20.05	10.36	7.48
Education
	Less than high school	111	24.4	9.65	22.23	10.85	6.78
	Bachelor’s degree	238	52.4	9.75	24.25	10.87	7.35
	Graduate degree	106	23.2	8.77	22.25	9.93	8.19
Employment
	Students	129	30.4	9.73	23.46	10.76	7.64
	Employed workers	154	32.2	9.82	23.86	10.84	8.01
	Self-employed	20	4.2	8.90	20.42	10.14	5.80
	Retired	16	3.4	10.52	19.23	9.76	5.17
	Unemployed	79	17.8	8.68	23.19	10.39	7.64
	Homemakers	57	12	8.28	23.09	11.40	6.00
Family Income
	Less than 5000 SR	118	26.4	9.64	24.06	11.17	7.54
	5000 and 10,000 SR	124	27.8	9.73	22.97	11.17	7.11
	10,000 and 15,000 SR	85	17.8	9.35	23.07	10.31	7.43
	15,000 and 20,000 SR	61	13.4	9.08	34.35	9.44	7.02
	More than 20,000 SR	67	14.6	9.30	21.98	10.17	8.08

Instruments

The questionnaire sent to participants included a set of demographic questions and these psychometric scales: the Edwards Compulsive Buying Scale Revised [53], the Ruminative Responses Scale [54], and the Perceived Stress Scale [55]. This questionnaire was administered in Arabic language.

The Edwards compulsive buying scale revised

This instrument is a short form that Maraz and colleagues [53] revised from the Edwards Compulsive Buying Scale [56]. This revised version is comprised of 16 items that measure how compulsive people feel when they engage in purchasing goods. This scale is scored on seven-point Likert scale from 1 to 7, where a score of 1 indicates “strongly disagree” and the score of 7 indicates “strongly agree.” This revised version contains 4 subscales: lack of control, mood modification, guilt, and unnecessary buying [53]. In this study, the internal consistency reliability coefficients were adequate for all the subscales: a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.73 for lack of control, 0.82 for mood modification, 0.65 for guilt, and 0.76 for unnecessary buying.

The ruminative responses scale [54]

This is a 10-item scale that comprises two subscales: reflection and brooding. It is scored on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 4, where 1 indicates “almost never” and 4 indicates “almost always.” The internal consistency reliability coefficients were sufficient for all the subscales in this study: a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.76 for reflection and 0.82 for brooding.

The perceived stress scale [55]

This is a 14-item scale that assesses the level of stress respondents feel they are experiencing. It is scored on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging between 0 and 4, where 0 indicates “never” and 4 indicates “very often.” Items 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13 are positively stated and have to be reverse scored. A total score is calculated by summing the scores, after reversing the indicated items. Higher total scores indicate greater perceived stress. The internal consistency reliability was adequate in this study (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.83).

Data analysis

The data analyses were conducted in RStudio statistical software [57]. The socio-demographic characteristics of the sample were calculated first. The “psych” software package [58] was used to calculate Pearson correlations and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. A structural equation model was estimated using the “lavaan” software package [59]. The model was plotted using the “lavaanPlot” package [60]. In the SEM model, several confounders were included in the model, in particular, the gender, age, education, and household income of respondents.

Results

Table 1 displays the mean, SD, Pearson correlations, and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the study variables. The mean score for perceived stress was 33.05 (SD = 5.56, range 0–56). The average score was 11.94 (SD = 3.59, range 5–20) and 12.34 (SD = 3.83, range 5–20) for reflection and brooding, respectively. The mean score for lack of control was 9.40 (SD = 4.83, range = 3–21), the mean score for mood modification was 23.26 (SD = 9.75, range = 7–49), the average score for guilt was 10.65 (SD = 4.72, range = 3–21), and the mean score for unnecessary buying was 7.41 (SD = 4.39, range = 3–21).

Table 1.

Mean (SD), person correlations, and cronbach’s alpha coefficients

Variables	Mean (SD)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	α
1. Perceived stress	33.05 (5.56)	1							0.83
2. Reflection	11.94 (3.59)	0.28***	1						0.76
3. Brooding	12.34 (3.83)	0.24***	0.57***	1					0.82
4. Lack of control	9.40 (4.83)	0.09*	0.11**	0.18***	1				0.73
5. Mood modification	23.26 (9.75)	0.19***	0.22***	0.27***	0.43***	1			0.82
6. Guilt	10.65 (4.72)	0.13***	0.20***	0.24***	0.20***	0.18***	1		0.65
7. Unnecessary buying	7.41 (4.39)	0.07	0.14***	0.18***	0.31***	0.52***	0.21***	1	0.76

Notes: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; Notes: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; column heading numbers correspond to row headings’ numbered variables

Perceived stress was positively correlated with reflection (r = 0.28, p < 0.001), with brooding (r = 0.24, p < 0.001), with lack of control (r = 0.09, p < 0.05), with mood modification (r = 0.19, p < 0.001), and with guilt (r = 0.13, p < 0.001). Reflection was positively correlated with brooding (r = 0.57, p < 0.001), with lack of control (r = 0.11, p < 0.01), with mood modification (r = 0.22, p < 0.001), with guilt (r = 0.20, p < 0.001), and with unnecessary buying (r = 0.14, p < 0.001). Brooding was also positively correlated with lack of control (r = 0.18, p < 0.001), with mood modification (r = 0.27, p < 0.001), with guilt (r = 0.24, p < 0.001), and with unnecessary buying (r = 0.18, p < 0.001). Table 2 displays the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample as well as the mean and SD of the compulsive buying dimensions per category.

Before conducting the mediation analysis with structural equation modeling (SEM), we estimated a direct relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying and this was significant (β = 0.11, p < 0.001). Therefore, hypothesis H1 was supported. In the mediation model, we set a path analysis through reflection and brooding. The fit indices were adequate (ꭓ² = 233.08, df = 21, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.06; SRMR = 0.04; CFI = 0.94; TLI = 0.92). Figure 1 displays visually the results of the mediation analysis. Perceived stress was associated with reflection (β = 0.34, p < 0.001), but reflection was not related to compulsive buying (β = 0.10, p > 0.05). On the other hand, perceived stress was related to brooding (β = 0.28, p < 0.001) and brooding was also associated with compulsive buying (β = 0.35, p < 0.001). In the presence of the mediator, perceived stress was no longer related to compulsive buying (β = 0.34, p > 0.05). Therefore, brooding fully mediated the relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying (β_ind = 0.042, p < 0.001), but reflection did not mediate this relationship (β_ind = 0.013, p = 0.472). Thus, H2 was supported, but H3 was not.

Fig. 1.

Structural equation model predicting compulsive buying. Notes: ***p < 0.001, the numbers on the arrows represent the standardized beta coefficients and factor loadings

Discussion

This study was aimed at investigating the link between perceived stress and compulsive buying, and examining the mediation role of rumination in this relationship, in a sample of Saudi adults. The main findings revealed that perceived stress was positively associated with compulsive buying. Further, the mediation analysis with SEM showed that brooding fully mediated this relationship, as the association between perceived stress and compulsive buying was no longer significant when brooding was entered into the model. However, reflection did not mediate the relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying.

The finding of the positive relationship of perceived stress with compulsive buying corroborates the findings from previous studies [20, 21, 27, 61], including previous research from Asia [28–31]. Roberts and Roberts [58] s concluded that participants in the high stress group in their study had higher scores of compulsive buying than those in the low stress group [21]. And a recent systematic review by Thomas et al. on the association between stress and compulsive buying reported that many studies have found that stress is a vulnerability factor for compulsive buying [15]. Clearly, all this evidence suggests that individuals with higher levels of perceived stress may be at higher risk of engaging in compulsive buying. Researchers have claimed that compulsive buying provides momentary pleasure and hedonic emotions that may alleviate stress temporarily [62, 63]. Nonetheless, there are studies that did not find similar results [64–66], suggesting that there may be some other underlying mechanisms.

As brooding fully mediated the relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying, but reflection did not exhibit a significant mediation, it appears that perceived stress may be linked to compulsive buying through brooding but not reflection. In line with this, previous research concluded that brooding mediated the relationship between early life stress and impulsivity (negative urgency) [67]. Similarly, a previous study reported that brooding was associated with suicide attempts, but no association with reflection was found [35]. This is consistent with the findings that brooding rumination predicts negative outcomes whereas reflection rumination tends to show neutral associations [37].

Prior research has documented also a mediating effect of rumination in other contexts. Studies using momentary assessments reported that rumination mediated and moderated the relationship between life stress and negative affect and depression [68]. A moderation role of rumination was also reported in the relationship between life stress and future depression among college students [69]. Other studies found that rumination mediated the relationship between stressful experiences and subsequent depression and anxiety [70, 71]. Rumination was also found as a mediator in the association between loneliness and well-being [46]. And a study by Liu and colleagues [72] demonstrated that rumination moderated the association between upward social comparison on social network sites and impulse buying.

While the relationship between stress and compulsive buying is well documented in the literature, the cognitive mechanisms underlying this relationship have not been fully developed. The present study found that brooding rumination was a mediating mechanism between stress and compulsive buying. According to the response styles theory, individuals with high levels of rumination tend to think repetitively about stressful experiences in their life, which exacerbates their negative moods [72], and which increases susceptibility to compulsive buying. A recent systematic review showed that rumination contributed significantly to online buying problems among other internet use disorders [73].

Despite the strengths of this study, there are limitations that need to be mentioned. The study adopted a cross-sectional design, and so we cannot assume causality and direction in the relationships. Future research should use longitudinal designs and experimental designs to address the temporality and causation of these relationships. Further, the study used convenience sampling. Although this approach allowed the study to obtain as many and diverse a sample as possible, it does not allow for generalization to other populations. Future research should rely on random sampling methods to ensure generalizability of findings. Finally, the sample used was disproportionate, with a higher number of females. Future research should use a proportionate sample that would allow fair comparison between the sexes.

Conclusions

This study investigated the relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying in a sample of Saudi adults. The results showed that perceived stress was positively related to compulsive buying, and that this relationship was fully mediated by brooding rumination. This study suggests that efforts to reduce compulsive buying ought to be directed at managing rumination.

Implications

The results from this study have theoretical and practical implications. Firstly, this study contributes to the literature by establishing a relationship between perceived stress and compulsive buying in a sample of Saudi adults. Further, this study posits that brooding rumination plays an important role in this relationship. To our knowledge, this is the first study to do so in this population. Secondly, these findings are relevant for practitioners and researchers. It is important to place a focus on ruminative thinking, as it represents a negative coping mechanism to stress, and interventions and programs should target ruminative thinking. Interventions should also consider that prior research has reported that increasing people’s forgiveness [74], increasing people’s hope [75], and increasing individual’s executive function [76] resulted in reduced rumination.

Abbreviations

COR

Conservation of resources theory

PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder

SEM

Structural equation modelling

RMSEA

Root mean square error of approximation

SRMR

Standardized root mean squared residual

CFI

Comparative fit index

TLI

Tucker-Lewis Index

Author contributions

Conceptualization, Mogeda El Keshky; Data curation, Mogeda El Keshky; Formal analysis, Mogeda El Keshky; Funding acquisition, Iman Almohammadi; Investigation, Mogeda El Keshky and Iman Almohammadi; Methodology, Mogeda El Keshky; Writing original draft– review & editing, Mogeda El Keshky and Iman Almohammadi.

Funding

The Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has funded this Project under grant no. (G: 36-246-1443).

Data availability

The data set used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the author on reasonable request.

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethics Board approval was obtained from the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (G: 36-246-1443). All participants were informed about the aim of the study and their right to withdraw from the study at any time and informed consent was obtained from all participants. All procedures followed were carried out in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.