When Stress Turns into Spending: Examining the Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder that applies after childbirth has become a problem that is growing not only on the basis of its clinical implications but also on the basis of its potential behavioral implications. The research on the connection between post- traumatic stress disorder and compulsive buying behaviour within the Stimulus Response framework is policy-based on the mediation in which the research study used emotional intelligence as the mediating factor among post- cesarean women. They were collected via a structured survey (n = 368) about post- cesarean women and analyzed using the assistance of the Statistical Package of Social Sciences and Smartpls 4  Partial Least Squares. Reliability and validity tests demonstrated the existence of strong psychometric properties and hypothesis-based relationships were tested with the use of structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that post-traumatic stress disorder is a very important factor in determining the likelihood of compulsive buying, indicating that excessive consumption may be acquired by women who experience more intense symptoms of trauma to manage them. However, emotional intelligence was established to have a negative predictive relationship with compulsive buying behavior that upholds the significance of emotional control in de-escalating the maladaptive purchasing behaviors. This mediation analysis also confirmed the findings that emotional intelligence partly mediates the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and compulsive buying behavior and therefore it is possible to mitigate the adverse behavioral outcomes of the trauma through enhancing emotional intelligence. This study contributes to the theory as it predicts the Stimulus-Organism-Response model to parental health and consumer behavior by showing how responses of emotional processes mediate responses of psychological distresses. In practice, the findings require health care policies that involve integration of psychological counseling, emotional intelligence training, and financial literacy training of post cesarean mothers. It is possible to correlate the policy recommendations with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 3 and Goal 5) because it will enhance maternal mental health and protect women against economic risks.