Compulsive Buying Index

What it measures

A brief, well-validated 6-item measure of compulsive buying covering both the repetitive/preoccupation dimension and the impulse control dimension. A cut-off score of 25 classifies potential compulsive buyers (approximately 9–16% of general/female samples). CBI correlates with materialism (r=0.51), depression (r=0.21), anxiety (r=0.31), hiding purchases (r=0.59), and family arguments about spending (r=0.44). Shows convergent validity with the Faber & O'Guinn (1992) screener (r=0.62) and superior predictive validity for actual purchase behaviour.

Response format

Items 1–3 and 6: 7-point strongly disagree to strongly agree; items 4–5: 7-point never to very often; scores summed (range 6–42)

Scale items

Obsessive-Compulsive Buying (items 1–3) — 7-point strongly disagree to strongly agree

• My closet has unopened shopping bags in it.
• Others might consider me a shopaholic.
• Much of my life centers around buying things.

Impulsive Buying (items 4–6) — items 4–5: 7-point never to very often; item 6: 7-point strongly disagree to strongly agree

• I buy things I don't need.
• I buy things I did not plan to buy.
• I consider myself an impulse purchaser.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Items 1, 2, 3, and 6 use a strongly disagree–strongly agree format; items 4 and 5 use a never–very often format. Sum all 6 items for the overall CBI score. Cut-off of >=25 identifies potential compulsive buyers.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Ridgway, N.M., Kukar-Kinney, M., & Monroe, K.B. (2008). An expanded conceptualization and measure of compulsive buying. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(4), 622–639.

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