The Relationship between Emotional Schemas and Compulsive Buying: The Roles of Rumination and Self-Control.

Author : SeulAh Lee

Abstract : This study investigated the psychological mechanisms underlying compulsive buying among young adults by examining the mediating role of rumination and the potential moderating effect of self-control. A survey was conducted with 401 adults, utilizing the Korean version of the Leahy Emotional Schema Scale II-Short Form (K-LESS-II), the rumination subscale of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), the Compulsive Purchase Scale (CPS), and the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS). Data were analyzed using the SPSS PROCESS Macro (Model 14). The results indicated that maladaptive emotional schemas significantly and positively predicted rumination (β =.124, p<.001) and had a direct positive impact on compulsive buying buying (β =.288, p <.001). Additionally, self-control was a significant negative predictor of compulsive buying (β =-.493, p <.001), identifying it as a crucial protective factor. However, the interaction between rumination and self-control, as well as the index of moderated mediation (Index = .0010, 95% CI: -.0044 to .0062), were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that while emotional schemas and self-control are powerful independent predictors of compulsive buying, their effects do not interact in a moderated mediation structure. The study concludes that clinical interventions for compulsive buying should simultaneously address cognitive-emotional restructuring of schemas and the enhancement of self-regulatory capacities as distinct therapeutic objectives.

Keywords : compulsive buying, emotional schemas, rumination, self-control, young adults, and consumer psychology.

Conference Name : International Conference on Mental Health, Psychiatry and Psychological Practice (ICMHP-26)

Conference Place : Lisbon, Portugal

Conference Date : 12th Jun 2026