Open Access

ARTICLE

The Effect of Self-Investment on Hoarding Tendency of Chinese College Students: Role of Psychological Connections

Xiangli Guan¹, Yue Zhang², Yang Li¹, Yaqi Zhang^1,*, Jingjing Wang¹, Xuejiao Li¹, Mary C. Jobe³, Md Zahir Ahmed⁴, Oli Ahmed⁵
1 School of Teacher Education, Yuxi Normal University, Yuxi, 653100, China
2 Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
3 Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington DC, 20052, USA
4 College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China
5 Department of Psychology, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, 4331, Bangladesh
* Corresponding Author: Yaqi Zhang. Email: zhangyaqi@yxnu.edu.cn

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2023.027086

Received 13 October 2022; Accepted 21 November 2022; Published online 06 December 2022

Abstract

Because of factors such as energy and time one invests in an object, the stronger the connection, value, and reluctance to lose said object individual will have. Hoarding behavior arises when individuals incorporate a strong attachment with themselves to an object. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of self-investment on hoarding tendency and the roles of possession-self link and liking level in this connection. A hypothetical model of the relationship between self-investment, possession-self link, liking level, and hoarding tendency was tested. A convenience sampling method was used to survey 450 college students in Yunnan Province on either a paper-based or online self-report scale. The data were collected using self-investment, possession-self link, and liking level questionnaires, as well as the Saving Inventory Revised. Results showed positive relationship between the study variables, ranging from 0.37 to 0.87. College students’self-investment had a direct positive predictive effect on hoarding tendency; self-investment, in turn, indirectly predicted hoarding tendency through the mediating effect of possession-self link; and individual liking level of items had a moderating effect for self-investment on the possession-self link. This study shows how self-investment affects the hoarding tendency of college students, and the results of this study also help demonstrate the value of self-investment and possession-self link in optimizing students’ hoarding tendency and thus promoting good psychological status.

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Keywords

Hoarding tendency; self-investment; psychological connections; possession-self link; liking level

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