Was a stronger tendency to use credit cards linked to more impulse buying and regret among women aged 18–22?

Details

Impulse buying means making an unplanned purchase because of a sudden urge that is hard to resist. This study examined how the tendency to use credit cards, impulse buying and regret after purchases were related.

Researchers surveyed 249 women aged 18–22 who were recruited based on ease of access rather than random selection. They statistically analyzed the relationships and found that a stronger tendency to use credit cards went along with more impulse buying and greater regret after purchases.

The abstract does not say how large these relationships were or how precisely they were estimated. The survey cannot establish that credit card use caused impulse buying or regret, or that impulse buying led to regret. Because participants came from a narrow age group and were not randomly selected, the findings may not apply to other groups.