Mental imagery in the context of online compulsive buying-shopping disorder: The role of pleasure and relief.

Background: The rise of e-commerce has led to an increase in online compulsive buying-shopping disorder (OCBSD), an addictive disorder potentially driven by preoccupations like mental imagery, yet their occurrence and predictors have not been thoroughly explored.
Methods: This study investigated the expression of and associations with mental imagery in women with pathological ( n  = 56) or non-problematic buying-shopping ( n  = 56) applying hierarchical regression analyses. Participants were classified based on a structured diagnostic interview, completed self-report questionnaires assessing experiences of gratification and compensation during shopping, and a 14-day end-of-day ambulatory assessment, evaluating mental imagery intensity.
Results: Women with pathological buying-shopping reported significantly more intense shopping-specific mental imagery compared to women with non-problematic buying-shopping. Mental imagery was significantly predicted only by compensatory experiences in the pathological buying-shopping group with medium effect sizes.
Discussion: The findings suggest that in OCBSD, mental images likely arise from to the anticipated effects of relief, possibly indicating a maladaptive coping strategy.
Competing Interests: AB reports financial support was provided by German Research Foundation. MB reports financial support was provided by German Research Foundation. MB reports a relationship with International Society for the Studies of Behavioral Addictions that includes: board membership. MB reports a relationship with German Federal Ministry of Education and Research that includes: funding grants. MB reports a relationship with Horizon Europe that includes: funding grants. MB has performed grant reviews for research-funding agencies; has edited journals and journal sections; has given academic lectures in clinical or scientific venues; and has generated book chapters for publishers of mental health texts. AM reports financial support was provided by German Research Foundation. AM reports a relationship with International Society for the Studies of Behavioral Addictions that includes: board membership. AM has edited journals and journal sections, has given academic lectures in clinical or scientific venues, and has generated book chapters for publishers of mental health texts.The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)