5.8 Mental Health and Consumer Behavior

Session Submission Type: Special Session

Session Overview

The experience of stress and traumatic events has long been linked to negative mental, behavioral, and physical health outcomes including maladaptive consumption such as addictive (e.g., Hirschman 1992) and compulsive (e.g., Faber et al. 1995) behaviors. Mental health issues are on the rise: According to statistics from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH 2016), approximately 45 million Americans struggle with one or more mental health issue, with females, older teenagers, and multi-race persons being more at-risk. Given the growing number of people worldwide who suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other emotional maladies, consumer researchers should strive to better understand the relationship between mental health and consumer behavior.

On the health side, behavioral health researchers are integrating consumer behavior theories to develop campaigns to help consumers navigate the mental healthcare system (e.g. Bielavitz, Wisdom, and Pollack 2011) or to communicate information about mental health (e.g. Chang 2008). The large body of research documenting relationships between mental health and substance use/abuse has guided the development of interventions such as those funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA 2019).

Within consumer research, however, few studies have tied mental health and consumption behaviors; for example, Hill (1991) and his colleagues (Stamey 1990) examined homeless persons who suffered from a variety of stressors and physical and mental challenges, as well as substance abuse, but did not find direct linkage between particular mental health issues, stressors or forms of consumption in terms of coping mechanisms. Other research focused explicitly or tangentially at addiction as a driver of behavior rather than driven by mental health concerns (see Lowenstein 2001 for an interesting critique that makes this point salient).

On the whole, and despite many calls for more health-focused research (Moorman 2002; Mick et al. 2012), the consumer behavior field lacks a comprehensive understanding of why and how the mental health construct, broadly construed, impacts consumption processes, ranging from felt need to dispossession. Therefore, this special session addresses the following questions:

1) How do mental health issues arise in particular circumstances and how can they be categorized and measured for use by consumer researchers?
2) How do specific manifestations of mental health issues impact consumer behavior in ways that are often considered outside of mainstream consumer research?
3) Can a more comprehensive way of studying the impact of mental health issues on consumer behavior be developed?

The first presentation illustrates the relationships between stressors, mental health, and maladaptive consumption behaviors with data from a longitudinal study of servicemembers deployed to a combat zone. The second presentation shows how mental resilience is constituted by how persons experiencing and living with disabilities attempt to overcome barriers in the marketplace. The third presentation brings out hopeful strategies for consumers to improve their ‘mental wellness.’ The concluding discussion, led by an academic researcher with professional mental health experience, will weave the three projects together and address the importance of multi-method approaches to our understanding of mental health and consumption.

Sub Track

• Special Sessions

Discussants

• Marie Yeh, Loyola at Baltimore

• Samantha Cross, Iowa State University, USA

• Akon Epko, Rutgers University, USA

• Elyria Kemp, University of New Orleans, USA

• Kelly Cowart, USF

• My Bui, LMU

Individual Presentations

• Post-Traumatic Stress and Consumption Behaviors - Cristel Russell, Pepperdine University, USA; Dale W. Russell, Uniformed Services University; Ronald Paul Hill, American University, USA

• Discourses of Disability: Building Physical and Mental Marketplace Resilience - Samantha Cross, Iowa State University, USA; Akon Epko, Rutgers University, USA

• Promoting Consumer Mental Wellness Through Emotion Regulation Strategies - Elyria Kemp, University of New Orleans, USA; Kelly Cowart, USF; My Bui, LMU

Session Chairs

• Cristel Russell, Pepperdine University, USA

• Ronald Paul Hill, American University, USA