Thirteen statements about urges to shop, spending when distressed, financial consequences, and feelings after buying.
Method and research sourcesThe Edwards scale assesses five related aspects of compulsive buying: drive to spend, feelings about shopping, spending tendency, dysfunctional consequences, and guilt after purchases.
Responses are scored 1–5. Items 2 and 3 are reverse scored; we report an overall mean and five descriptive dimension means, all from 1 to 5.
The original scale record and two open research reviews of pathological or shopping disorder measures and treatment are listed below.
Elizabeth A. Edwards
Astrid Mueller, et al.
Astrid Mueller, et al.
Resources are linked by spending, impulse control, mood, and financial stress—not by a diagnosis.
Why purchases may soothe and spending may feel frightening. Recognise recurring patterns, discuss money as a couple and choose psychological or practical support.
How to examine repeated delay, distinguish avoidance from overload or an unwanted goal, change the conditions and choose a manageable next step.
Answer the 20-item Internet Addiction Test about loss of control and the impact of online activity on daily life.
Answer ten SAS-SV questions about smartphone-related interference, preoccupation, loss of control, and discomfort.
No. An occasional unplanned purchase is common; persistent loss of control, distress, and harmful consequences are more concerning.
The scale describes degree and dimensions, while diagnostic status and thresholds remain contested and depend on context and impairment.
They ask about disliking or not enjoying shopping and are reverse scored. The interface does not mark them as ‘reverse’ because that is scoring metadata, not a user task.
