Graduate Program
Family and Consumer Studies
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Semester of Degree Completion
2011
Thesis Director
Linda Simpson
Thesis Committee Member
Lisa Taylor
Thesis Committee Member
Kathleen O'Rourke
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between a daughter's perception of her mother's consumer socialization (both overt and covert) and the development of compulsive buying behavior of that child as an adult. Previous studies suggest that mothers socialize their children into the consumers that they become as adults. The participants in this study were female students at a Midwestern university, ranging in age from 17 to 25, who designated themselves as those who "love to shop." Data were collected via a multi-part questionnaire. The results of this study suggested that mothers' buying behaviors have an influence on their daughters' consumer behavior as adults. If mothers displayed compulsive tendencies, their daughters were also likely to display compulsive tendencies. It was also found that mothers who displayed effective or ineffective money management skills had daughters that were repeating those same behaviors as adults.
Recommended Citation
Berbaum, Autumn L., "A mother's consumer socialization: The relationship with her daughter's compulsive buying behavior" (2011). Masters Theses. 405.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/405
