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Many a woman (and probably a few men, too) have long known that shopping can give them a boost of happiness.

But such episodes of retail therapy have been branded as nothing more than a lost and lonely soul trying to fill a void by buying stuff and becoming more lost and lonely in the process. That might not always be an accurate assessment.

HealthDay News reports that researchers from Tilburg University in the Netherlands have concluded that the relationship between shopping and loneliness can go both ways--and which way it goes has a lot to do with why you shop.

"It is not a good idea to shop to become happy or to own more than others, but shopping for the fun of shopping might actually be not a bad idea after all," lead study author Rik Pieters, a professor of marketing, told HealthDay News.

While loneliness can encourage materialism, he found that the right type of materialism can reduce loneliness.

Pieters collected information on more than 2,500 Dutch consumers over a six-year period, asking each person to evaluate his or her level of loneliness and materialism. He also asked why they shopped and studied how everything interacted.

Pieters says there are three types of shoppers, and it's quite likely we switch back-and-forth between them:

1. The One-Upper
People who purchase things to increase their social status tend to get more lonely. The biggest house, the most clothes or the most expensive car don't actually make them feel better.

2. The Comfort-Seeker
These shoppers believe that once they own something they greatly desire they will be happy and truly enjoy life. Instead, they become even more lonely.

3. The Happy Hedonist
People who buy things for the sheer enjoyment of shopping are the happiest and least lonely. This type of shopping reduces loneliness because the shopper's enjoyment spreads to other people. "There is no bragging, comparison or envy involved," said Pieters.

The study was published in the Journal of Consumer Research.

--From the Editors at Netscape