Published Paper Details:

The term affluenza, a portmanteau of affluence and influenza denotes a cluster of maladaptive psychological tendencies arising from overexposure to materialism, entitlement, and consumerism. Despite its growing relevance in contemporary India, no indigenously developed and psychometrically validated instrument for its assessment was available. The present study reports the systematic construction and validation of the Affluenza Scale (AS), a 21-item, three-point self-report instrument for Indian adults aged 16-40 years. Development followed five sequential phases: (a) theoretical item generation (initial pool = 41 items); (b) content validation by a five-member expert panel (retained 27 items; 75% agreement criterion); (c) empirical item analysis using extreme-group discrimination on a standardisation sample (N = 550; Males = 258, Females = 292; Mage = 28.3 years), yielding 21 final items; (d) exploratory factor analysis (PCA with Varimax rotation) revealing a five-factor structure : Gasconading, Distress, Materialism, Shopaholism, and Fiscal Exigency; accounting for 72.32% of total variance; and (e) reliability and validity assessment. Internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach's ? = .917) and temporal stability over a two-month interval was high (r = .871). Concurrent validity with the Oliver (2007) Affluenza Scale was strong (r = .787, p < .001). Normative data from N = 1,078 Indian adults, with separate male and female norms, are reported. The AS provides researchers and practitioners with a culturally grounded instrument for the assessment of affluenza in Indian contexts.