Loneliness is widespread in the United States as an estimated 20% percent of adult consumers are affected by it. Loneliness may motivate individuals to compensate for their need of social fulfilment by consuming more goods and services which may lead to materialism. Though limited studies have examined the relationship between loneliness and materialism, this study views loneliness as a self-discrepancy and examines its influence on materialism through three mediators (emotion regulation, self-enhancement, escapism) within the perspective of compensatory consumer behavior. Results from this study contribute to the growing body of consumer behavior research on the psychological underpinnings of compensatory consumer behavior. Furthermore, it sheds light on how consumers seek to reduce their loneliness self-discrepancy through compensatory consumer behavior with the consumption outcome of materialism.
","abstract_html":"<p>Loneliness is widespread in the United States as an estimated 20% percent of adult consumers are affected by it. Loneliness may motivate individuals to compensate for their need of social fulfilment by consuming more goods and services which may lead to materialism. Though limited studies have examined the relationship between loneliness and materialism, this study views loneliness as a self-discrepancy and examines its influence on materialism through three mediators (emotion regulation, self-enhancement, escapism) within the perspective of compensatory consumer behavior. Results from this study contribute to the growing body of consumer behavior research on the psychological underpinnings of compensatory consumer behavior. Furthermore, it sheds light on how consumers seek to reduce their loneliness self-discrepancy through compensatory consumer behavior with the consumption outcome of materialism.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Billen, Christine"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Marketing","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Business Administration","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Armen Tashchian","Dr. David Burns","Dr. Mona Sinha"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-04-13T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-04-13T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:58Z","subjects":["Loneliness","Materialism","Emotion Regulation","Self-Enhancement","Escapism","Compensatory Consumer Behavior","Marketing"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/phdba_etd/27","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Armen Tashchian","Dr. David Burns","Dr. Mona Sinha"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Billen, Christine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2028-04-28T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Business Administration"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Marketing"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Loneliness","Materialism","Emotion Regulation","Self-Enhancement","Escapism","Compensatory Consumer Behavior","Marketing"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/phdba_etd/27"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Loneliness is widespread in the United States as an estimated 20% percent of adult consumers are affected by it. Loneliness may motivate individuals to compensate for their need of social fulfilment by consuming more goods and services which may lead to materialism. Though limited studies have examined the relationship between loneliness and materialism, this study views loneliness as a self-discrepancy and examines its influence on materialism through three mediators (emotion regulation, self-enhancement, escapism) within the perspective of compensatory consumer behavior. Results from this study contribute to the growing body of consumer behavior research on the psychological underpinnings of compensatory consumer behavior. Furthermore, it sheds light on how consumers seek to reduce their loneliness self-discrepancy through compensatory consumer behavior with the consumption outcome of materialism.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Demystifying the Link Between Loneliness and Materialism: Mediating Roles of Emotion Regulation, Self-Enhancement, and Escapism"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Armen Tashchian","Dr. David Burns","Dr. Mona Sinha"],"dc:creator":["Billen, Christine"],"dc:date.available":["2028-04-28T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Loneliness is widespread in the United States as an estimated 20% percent of adult consumers are affected by it. Loneliness may motivate individuals to compensate for their need of social fulfilment by consuming more goods and services which may lead to materialism. Though limited studies have examined the relationship between loneliness and materialism, this study views loneliness as a self-discrepancy and examines its influence on materialism through three mediators (emotion regulation, self-enhancement, escapism) within the perspective of compensatory consumer behavior. Results from this study contribute to the growing body of consumer behavior research on the psychological underpinnings of compensatory consumer behavior. Furthermore, it sheds light on how consumers seek to reduce their loneliness self-discrepancy through compensatory consumer behavior with the consumption outcome of materialism.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/phdba_etd/27"],"dc:subject":["Loneliness","Materialism","Emotion Regulation","Self-Enhancement","Escapism","Compensatory Consumer Behavior","Marketing"],"dc:title":["Demystifying the Link Between Loneliness and Materialism: Mediating Roles of Emotion Regulation, Self-Enhancement, and Escapism"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Business Administration"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Marketing"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:58Z"}