Campus Location

Abilene Campus (Residential)

Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Joshua Rhodes

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

David McAnulty

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Brit'ny Stein

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationships among loneliness, self-esteem, conformity, and online purchasing and gambling behaviors in Generation Z college students. To do so, a cross-sectional design was implemented with a sample of 69 undergraduate and graduate students who completed self-report measures assessing self-esteem, loneliness, conformity, psychological distress, online shopping addiction, and online gambling severity. Data were analyzed using SPSS through multiple and simple linear regression analyses, moderated regression, and Pearson correlations. Results indicated that selfesteem and loneliness were not significant predictors of conformity, and conformity did not predict online shopping or gambling behaviors. Additionally, self-esteem, loneliness, and conformity did not significantly predict online shopping addiction. However, lower self-esteem significantly predicted greater online gambling severity. Psychological distress partially moderated the relationship between loneliness and online shopping addiction but not gambling behavior. Screen time was also positively associated with both online shopping addiction and online gambling severity. Overall, these findings suggest that conformity may not be a central factor driving maladaptive online behaviors in Generation Z. Instead, psychological factors may play a stronger role in online gambling, while online shopping appears to be more influenced by environmental factors.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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