A Nation of Shopaholics

It's the sort of thing men joke about in the pub. 'My wife's addicted to shopping', they'll say, while their mates grin and nod sympathetically.

A study suggests however, that the compulsion to buy may be a growing problem, affecting as many as one in five people, and in extreme cases leading to family breakup and financial ruin. [1]

The number of people who confess to being shopaholics has grown from fifteen percent to twenty-two percent of the population in five years. And while twenty-nine percent of women admit to being addicted, so do fifteen percent of men. Shopping is no longer simply a way of providing.essentials for the family, say market researchers, to many women it is more like a hobby.

True, many people have more money to spend these days. Personal disposable income has risen in twenty years. However, what they buy is not necessarily what they can afford.

Over the same period, the number of people using credit cards has increased by four times, and consumer debt has trebled. [2]

A bank executive stole more than €150,000 from her employers and blew it on clothes and make-up to 'escape the stresses of being a working mother'. Lyne Harding hid her purchases from her husband, who had no idea of what she was doing. And she got away with it for four years. [3]

Spending sprees can be a symptom of serious personal problems, according to researchers who have studied the subject. There are 'revenge shoppers', who want to spite their husbands or boyfriends because they are unhappy with their relationships. There are those who need shopping trips to add excitement to their lives. Dr Helga Dittma, of the University of Sussex, believes habitual shopping - particularly for designer clothes and jewellery - is a symptom of a collapse of self-esteem. 'Addicts want not only the latest fashions, they want to feel like the sort of person who would normally own them, and to feel important, glamorous and loved’.