新奇事件簿 男人也有购物狂（在线收听）

A recent survey has found that one in 20 American adults buy things they may not even want or never need or use. In today’s world of consumerism, where we are constantly bombarded by ads, this is perhaps not surprising. What may raise an eyebrow or two is a further finding in the study that men are just as likely as women to suffer from “compulsive buying”. Gone seem to be the days when women dragged their bored and fed-up-looking men around shopping malls. The new research from Stanford University has revealed that men are now just as avid and compulsive shoppers as their female counterparts. Researcher Dr Lorrin Koram said that the numbers of men who indulge in unnecessary shopping sprees has rocketed: "That's the biggest surprise -- men engage in this behavior almost as commonly as women," he said.

最近一项调查发现，20名美国人中就有1人买了他们不想要，或者从来不需要，从来都不用的东西。在如今的消费主义时代，我们经常被各种广告轰炸，因此这并不奇怪。让人感到惊讶的是这项研究的另外一项发现，男人可能也像女人一样购物上瘾。女人拖着一脸不耐烦的男人逛商场的时代似乎成为过去了。来自斯坦福大学的这项最新研究发现，男人购物时可能也像女人那样贪婪和上瘾。研究员Lorrin Koram表示，放纵自己无节制地购买非必需品的男性数量剧增：“这是最让人惊讶的——男人冲动购物的情况几乎像女人一样普遍。”

This finding runs counter to the conventional and rather stereotyped view that compulsive buying is very much a "woman's disease." Dr. Koram said trends and figures may have been unfairly skewed as male obsessive shoppers used to be more reluctant than women to recognize that they have a problem and then come forward and admit it. He pointed out that: "Generally, in psychiatry, men seek care less often than women…It's not 'manly' to seek help." And help seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered for any compulsive shopper, who is usually not made any happier by his or her relentless buying. Dr Koram warned: "It's always important to encourage people who have these types of disorders to seek treatment." Many find themselves laden with debt and filled with shame and suicidal tendencies as they attempt to hide their addiction.

这项发现与传统的根深蒂固的观点背道而驰。人们一直以为冲动购物是女人特有的缺点。Koram博士表示，过去的趋势和数据可能被扭曲了，因为迷恋购物的男性通常不情愿承认这个问题。他指出：“总的来说，从精神层面来讲，与女人相比，男人更不愿意寻求呵护。寻求帮助显得没有男子气概。”很多冲动型购物者无节制地购物后并没有变得更开心，医生建议他们寻求帮助。Koram警告称：“我们鼓励有这种症状的人寻求治疗，这是非常重要的。”许多人负债累累，试图克制购物冲动，充满愧疚感，甚至有自杀倾向。