RESEARCH PAPER
Materialism, conspicuous consumption,
and brand engagement in self-concept:
a study of teenagers
| 1 | Institute of Psychology, University of Zielona Góra, Zielona Góra, Poland |
| 2 | Institute of Psychology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland |
| 3 | Faculty of Psychology, University of Economics and Human Sciences, Warsaw, Poland |
Submission date: 2021-04-16
Final revision date: 2021-08-16
Acceptance date: 2021-08-24
Online publication date: 2022-02-09
Publication date: 2022-03-01
Current Issues in Personality Psychology 2022;10(1):39–48
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Contemporary adolescents, also known as Generation Z, are an important group of consumers due to the role they play in today’s economy. The present study investigates the relationship between materialism and brand engagement in self-concept (BESC) and whether conspicuous consumption is a mediator of this relationship in early, middle, and late adolescence.
Material and methods:
The participants were 581 students from Poland, aged 13 to 17 (M = 15 years, SD = 1.42); 51.6% of them were girls. Data were gathered using a demographic information form, the Youth Materialism Scale, the Conspicuous Consumption Scale, and a BESC Scale, completed during personal interviews.
Results:
The study indicated an association of higher materialism and higher conspicuous consumption with a higher level of BESC, where conspicuous consumption acts as a mediator of the correlation between materialism and BESC. Age also moderates this mediation, i.e., the older the teenagers are, the weaker is the analyzed mediation effect.
Conclusions:
The research is part of an essential step in understanding the mechanism of BESC by testing a moderated mediation model in teenagers.
Contemporary adolescents, also known as Generation Z, are an important group of consumers due to the role they play in today’s economy. The present study investigates the relationship between materialism and brand engagement in self-concept (BESC) and whether conspicuous consumption is a mediator of this relationship in early, middle, and late adolescence.
Material and methods:
The participants were 581 students from Poland, aged 13 to 17 (M = 15 years, SD = 1.42); 51.6% of them were girls. Data were gathered using a demographic information form, the Youth Materialism Scale, the Conspicuous Consumption Scale, and a BESC Scale, completed during personal interviews.
Results:
The study indicated an association of higher materialism and higher conspicuous consumption with a higher level of BESC, where conspicuous consumption acts as a mediator of the correlation between materialism and BESC. Age also moderates this mediation, i.e., the older the teenagers are, the weaker is the analyzed mediation effect.
Conclusions:
The research is part of an essential step in understanding the mechanism of BESC by testing a moderated mediation model in teenagers.
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