Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Aug 13;21(9):91.
doi: 10.1007/s11920-019-1078-0.

Recent Advances in Research on Hoarding

Eliza J Davidson  1   2 , Mary E Dozier  1   2   3 , James O E Pittman  4   5 , Tina L Mayes  4   5 , Brian H Blanco  1   5 , John D Gault  1   5 , Lauren J Schwarz  1 , Catherine R Ayers  6   7
Affiliations
Review

Recent Advances in Research on Hoarding

Eliza J Davidson et al. Curr Psychiatry Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: The purpose of the following paper is to review recent literature trends and findings in hoarding disorder (HD). Our goal is to highlight recent research on etiology, associated features, and empirically based treatments.

Recent findings: Recent literature has added support for cognitive differences as a risk factor for HD; however, there is evidence that individuals with HD may overestimate their level of cognitive impairment. Several associated features have been highlighted in recent studies, including emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty and distress intolerance, and attachment. Finally, several psychotherapeutic treatments for hoarding have been recently validated, including group-based therapy and treatments using the cognitive-behavioral model. Although recent research demonstrates that hoarding can be effectively treated with available psychotherapeutic modalities, the effectiveness of current treatments is not as robust as that for other psychiatric disorders and more work is needed in treatment precision.

Keywords: Attachment; Cognitive functioning; Distress intolerance; Hoarding disorder.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
    1. Frost RO, Hartl TL. A cognitive-behavioral model of compulsive hoarding. Behav Res Ther. 1996;34:341–50. 10.1016/0005-7967(95)00071-2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mataix-Cols D, Frost RO, Pertusa A, Clark LA, Saxena S, Leckman JF, … Wilhelm S Hoarding disorder: a new diagnosis for DSM-V? Depress Anxiety, 2010;27, 556–572. 10.1002/da.20693 - DOI - PubMed

    1. Cath DC, Nizar K, Boomsma D, Mathews CA. Age-specific prevalence of hoarding and obsessive compulsive disorder: a population-based study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2017;25(3):245–55. 10.1016/j.jagp.2016.11.006.

      This study found that hoarding prevalence increases over the lifespan, and the increased rate of hoarding disorder in older adults may be driven by greater difficulties with discarding.

    1. Ayers CR. Age-specific prevalence of hoarding and obsessive compulsive disorder: a population-based study. Am J of Geriatr Psychiatry. 2017;25:256–7. 10.1016/j.jagp.2016.12.001. - DOI - PubMed