Hoarding, compulsive buying and reasons for saving

• Published in: Behaviour research and therapy Vol. 36; no. 7; pp. 657 - 664
• Main Authors: Frost, Randy O., Kim, Hyo-Jin, Morris, Claire, Bloss, Cinnamon, Murray-Close, Marta, Steketee, Gail
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.07.1998; Elsevier Science; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Buying; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Compulsive Behavior - diagnosis; Compulsive Behavior - psychology; Compulsive Behavior - therapy; Compulsive buying; Compulsive hoarding; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Motivation; Neuroses; Obsessive-compulsive disorders; Personality Inventory; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Stereotyped Behavior; Students - psychology; Compulsive buying; Compulsive hoarding; Human; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Symptomatology; Purchases; Hoarding; Anxiety disorder
• ISSN: 0005-7967; 1873-622X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0005-7967(98)00056-4

Two studies examined hypotheses about compulsive hoarding, compulsive buying and beliefs about saving and discarding derived from the cognitive-behavioral model of compulsive hoarding [Frost, R. O. and Hartl, T. (1996). A cognitive behavioral model of compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 341–350.]. Study 1 examined the hypotheses in a college student population, while study 2 compared members of a support group for hoarding and clutter-related problems with a nonclinical control. Across studies the hypotheses were supported. Compulsive hoarding was associated with compulsive buying and the frequency of acquisition of possessions discarded by others, suggesting that compulsive acquisition may be a broader construct than compulsive buying among people with hoarding problems. Regarding its association with OCD symptoms, hoarding was most closely associated with the impaired mental control features of OCD. Finally, in a hoarding-related task, hoarding was associated with a greater frequency of reasons to save, but was not associated with fewer reasons to discard a target possession.