The Relationship Between Impulsive Buying And Self-Esteem: A Correlational Analysis Among Young Adults

Self-esteem is a person's assessment of their own value (Rosenberg, 1965), whereas impulsive buying is the propensity to make, impulsive purchases motivated more by emotion than by necessity (Rook, 1987). Researchers have assumed these constructs are related, even though they originate from separate branches of psychology - one is a situational activity, the other is a fixed personality trait. Individuals who have poor self-esteem may be more likely to make impulsive purchases, frequently using them as a means of obtaining comfort, approval, or emotional satisfaction. The current study looked at the association between self-esteem and impulsive purchase behavior among young Indian consumers, and whether demographic factors such as gender, occupation, shopping type, and shopping frequency influenced these patterns. A cross-sectional, correlational design was used with a convenience sample of 99 participants from urban Indian settings. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was used to assess self-esteem, and impulsive buying was assessed with an 8-item adaptation of the Impulsive Buying Scale (Rook & Fisher, 1995). The study found no significant correlation between self-esteem and impulsive buying (r = -.051, p = .614). It also found no significant differences between groups based on gender (F(2, 96) = 0.08, p = .921), occupation (F(3, 95) = 0.32, p = .810), or shopping type (F(4, 94) = 3.467, p = .011). However, shopping frequency was the only factor showing a notable difference in impulsive purchase (F(2, 96) = 1.78, p = .174), with more frequent shoppers having higher impulsive buying tendencies. These findings imply that behavioral habits, rather than self-esteem or socio-demographic traits, may be more closely related to impulsive consumption in the Indian context.