Hoarding disorder – Investigating the relationship between reported prior deprivation and current beliefs about fear of material deprivation.

Background and aims

It has been suggested that there are multiple pathways leading to the development of Hoarding Disorder (HD). One suggested pathway is that early material deprivation can lead to hoarding primarily driven by a fear of further material deprivation: the present study examines the link between the recall of prior experience of deprivation and current beliefs about possessions including fear of future deprivation.

Method

A cross-sectional design dividing participants into three groups was used: individuals with hoarding with early material deprivation experience (HWD); individuals with hoarding without early material deprivation experience (HND); and community controls (CC). All groups completed measures assessing demographics, psychopathology, and three hoarding-related beliefs (fear of material deprivation, harm avoidance, attachment disturbance). The final sample size used for analysis was 74.

Results

There was no evidence of a difference between the HWD and HND groups in terms of fear of material deprivation or the other two hoarding-related beliefs. All three beliefs were raised in the HND and HWD groups relative to the CC group.

Discussion

Fear of material deprivation beliefs may motivate hoarding irrespective of any perceived experience of early material deprivation.