The significance of growing up in a hoarded home: Using natural language processing to examine the experiences of adult children of hoarding parents on Reddit

Abstract

Emerging research suggests individuals who grew up in a hoarded home may face ongoing challenges in life. Yet little is known about the unique struggles and support needs of this vulnerable group. This study aimed to address this gap by analyzing content from a large international community of adult children of hoarding parents (COHP) on Reddit using a two-pronged natural language processing approach. Findings from an open-coding thematic analysis revealed a high prevalence of “vent” and “question” post types on the COHP forums, and a comparison with another subforum indicated that COHP may face some challenges that exceed the normative difficulties that come with caring for elderly parents. Topic modeling suggested that the experiences of COHP could be summarized into eleven main themes, which we labeled 1) unresolved past, 2) present ramifications, 3) hygiene and hazards, 4) own hoarding tendencies, 5) relationship conflict, 6) small victories, 7) crisis-related support, 8) emotional triggers, 9) psychoeducation about hoarding, 10) young adults escaping the cycle, and 11) managing gifts and belongings. Overall, our findings confirm the significant psychological and practical challenges faced by COHP, and lay the groundwork for future research, interventions, and advocacy efforts tailored to this overlooked population.