There is still a scarcity of studies showing the relative contribution of different personality characteristics differentiating various behavioral addictions within an integrated model. In comparison to other addictions, fairly little is known about the role of specific personality traits in compulsive shopping. In addition, few studies have investigated the unique contribution of shopping addiction in terms of explaining different facets of well-being above and beyond personality characteristics previously shown to be related to psychosocial functioning. The present study shows validation of the Bergen Shopping Addiction Scale (BSAS) and a tentative integrated model of potential shopping addiction personality risk factors. BSAS was administered to 1156 Polish students. In addition, demographic variables, and personality traits (Big Five), self-esteem, self-efficacy, perceived narcissism, loneliness, social anxiety, and well-being indicators were measured. BSAS had acceptable fit with the data and demonstrated good reliability. The investigated model showed that shopping addiction was related to higher extraversion, perceived narcissism, and social anxiety, and lower agreeableness and general self-efficacy. Woman and older participants scored higher on BSAS. Shopping addiction was further related to all facets of impaired well-being and explained worse general health, and decreased sleep quality above and beyond other variables in the model. The results support the notion that shopping addiction may have specific personality risk factors with low agreeableness as an outstanding characteristic. This has implications for the development of early prevention and intervention programs.

BackgroundBig-Five personality traits are related to a variety of quality of life outcomes; therefore, they should arguably be controlled for whenever health and well-being are investigated. Valid and reliable short measures of these constructs may enable large scale epidemiological studies. Stress is a well-recognized risk factor for a host of health-related outcomes and its relationship with Big-Five personality is well-evidenced. The aim of this re-search was to investigate psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Mini-IPIP scale measuring Big Five personality factors. This included measurement invariance between genders and between two samples representing different stages of life – an employee sample and an adolescent sample – and investigating the relationships of Big Five personality traits with perceived stress.Participants and procedureSample 1 comprised 723 employees from a wide range of professions and sample 2 comprised 765 high school students. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4) was used in each sample.ResultsThe Mini-IPIP had an acceptable fit and reliability in both samples and showed measurement invariance be-tween samples and between genders within the samples. Big Five personality traits explained the variance in perceived stress similarly in both samples, and analogously to previous studies.ConclusionsThe present study shows that the Polish version is a valid and reliable psychometric tool and provides evidence that the relationship between personality and stress is relatively stable at different life stages, and can be effec-tively investigated with short measures.

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With increasing levels of psychopathology observed in students in recent years, there is a clear need for short and valid tools for evaluating their psychological health. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is one of the most commonly used instruments measuring these constructs. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Polish version of HADS in a sample of undergraduate students. Material and methods: A total of 1,032 students took part in the study. The students' were from various universities, years of study, and study courses. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the model fit of the original 2-factor structure. A series of hierarchically nested models were tested to assess measurement invariance between genders. Pearson correlation coefficients of HADS scores with criterion variables were calculated. The prevalence of depression was estimated on the basis of an empirical cut-off score. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good model fit of the Polish version of HADS, and strict measurement invariance between genders. Both anxiety and depression were related to higher levels of stress and lower sleep quality, social support and general quality of life. The prevalence of depression was estimated to be 7.6% or 21.2%, depending on the cut-off score used. Conclusions:The study corroborates good psychometric properties of the original 2-factor structure of the Polish version of HADS in a student sample, including measurement invariance between genders. It is thus concluded that HADS is a valid tool for the short measurement of anxiety and depression among students.