Life Aspirations, Generativity and Compulsive Buying in University Students

Abstract

The study of goal-oriented behaviour, because of its undeniable repercussions on physical and mental health, is one of the target topics of contemporary research. However, the content of life aspirations, emphasised from the self-determination theory, has received little attention from the field of compulsive buying although it plays an important role in the regulation of behaviour and well-being. Generativity, the personal construct that captures the intentions and/or the need to contribute (leave a legacy) to others, has never been analysed with respect to compulsive buying although it has been the source of interest of related fields (responsible consumption). Accordingly, this study seeks to shed light on the role of both constructs (life aspirations and generativity) in compulsive buying among university students. The sample consisted of 1093 Spanish university students classified either as non-compulsive buyers or compulsive buyers. Estimated prevalence of compulsive buying was 7.9%. The results of Student’s test confirm that, besides gender (women report greater propensity to the phenomenon), compulsive buyers score higher and show statistically significant differences with respect to non-compulsive buyers in all extrinsic goals (financial success, image, popularity and conformity) and hedonism. Non-compulsive buyers show significantly higher scores for the intrinsic goals of self-acceptance, affiliation and community feeling and also report a higher generative concern. The logistic regression analysis confirms that being female and the life aspirations of image, popularity and hedonism act as risk factors in compulsive buying in university students while generativity and the importance granted to the intrinsic goals of self-acceptance and affiliation are protective factors. Potential lines of action for this worrying phenomenon are discussed in the light of the findings.

What Do We Know When We Know a Compulsive Buying Person? Looking at Now and Ahead

“…In this line, the work by Roberts and Pirog [ 85 ] is particularly relevant: using a sample of university students, a positive association was confirmed between compulsive buying and extrinsic goals in financial success and attractiveness and a negative association with the intrinsic goals of self-acceptance and community feeling. Empirical support to the role played by this motivational unit is also found in other studies conducted using both general population samples [ 51 , 86 ] and university students [ 87 ]. Specifically, Otero-López and Villardefrancos [ 86 ] conclude that it is the people who are more vulnerable to compulsive buying that have the highest scores in the importance given to all extrinsic goals and in the probability of achieving extrinsic image and conformity goals.…”

“…They also report the lowest levels in the probability of achieving intrinsic goals. In a later study, these authors [ 51 ] conclude that the extrinsic goals of image, popularity, and conformity strengthen the predictive power of personality traits in compulsive buying; more recently, Otero-López, and Santiago and Castro [ 87 ], confirmed that the life aspirations of image, popularity, and hedonism act as risk factors in compulsive buying, while the importance granted to the intrinsic goals of self-acceptance and affiliation operate as protective factors.…”

“…Lastly, generativity, or the concern and activity devoted to contributing to others and society [ 103 , 104 ], although it has been linked to sustainable and/or responsible consumption [ 105 ], it has received little attention in the field of compulsive buying. There is only one study [ 87 ], that concludes that generativity, along with other variables, such as the intrinsic goals of self-acceptance and affiliation, is a protective factor against compulsive buying.…”

Personal Projects’ Appraisals and Compulsive Buying among University Students: Evidence from Galicia, Spain

“…The total score (ranging from was used as an index of CB tendency. The adequate psychometric properties of the GCBS were confirmed by previous research conducted with Spanish samples [46,47]. In this study, internal consistency was measured using Cronbach s alpha, which was 0.92.…”

Utilitarian, hedonic, and self-esteem motives in online shopping

“…Impulsive shopping tendency refers to a consumer characteristic that leads him/her to undertake the spontaneous, immediate and unreflective purchase of a particular product, and this characteristic is inhibited by the consumer's personality (Verplanken and Sato, 2011). On the other hand, shopping intention represents the consumer conscientiously choosing to spend money on brands that possess the values and ethos and represent the causes aligned with his/her own (Otero-L opez et al, 2021). Chan et al (2017) suggest that consumers develop the urge and motivation before performing impulsive buying.…”