Compulsive Buying Disorder

This chapter explores compulsive buying disorder (CBD) both as a unique impulsive control disorder and as a disorder that shares features with other compulsive and impulsive disorders. The chapter begins with a description of CBD derived from the existing literature, followed by a section on the epidemiology of CBD, with a focus on the distribution of CBD across different industrialized nations, genders, ages, and socioeconomic statuses. The chapter continues with a discussion of the proposed diagnostic criteria for CBD and an analysis of the disorder's presenting clinical characteristics. This section also reviews the clinically designed diagnostic scales for CBD as well as the most common comorbidities seen with CBD: common Axis I and Axis II disorders, particularly mood and anxiety disorders. The pathophysiology of CBD is then discussed, with a brief exploration of the possible hereditary nature of the disorder. The chapter concludes with a section on treatment and management methods for CBD, both psychological and pharmacological, as well as suggestions for future research needed to further the understanding and treatment of CBD.