To hoard or not to hoard purchased items - does it matter? A clinical cross-sectional study on compulsive buying-shopping disorder

Background

Research with individuals with compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD) indicated that comorbid hoarding disorder (HD), as determined by questionnaire cutoffs, is associated with more severe CBSD. This study investigated a clinical sample with CBSD and determined the prevalence of HD by clinical interview, explored whether hoarding refers to consumer goods and/or non-purchased, free items, and compared patients with (HD+) and without (HD-) comorbid HD regarding materialism, impulsiveness, general psychopathology, CBSD and HD symptoms. Additionally, the relationship between CBSD symptoms and other study variables was explored in the total sample.

Method

All patients (N = 81) underwent a clinical interview and answered the Pathological Buying Screener (PBS), the German Saving Inventory-Revised (GSI-R), and measures for materialism, impulsiveness, depression and anxiety.

Results

Seventeen patients had comorbid HD, of which 82 % hoarded predominantly purchased items. The HD+ group scored higher than the HD- group on the clutter and difficulty discarding GSI-R subscales, but not on the excessive acquisition GSI-R subscale or the PBS. There were no group differences in materialism, impulsiveness, and general psychopathology. The correlation between the PBS and the GSI-R in the total sample was driven by the high correlation between the PBS and the excessive acquisition GSI-R subscale. Higher PBS/GSI-R excessive acquisition scores were related to higher materialism and more psychopathology.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that hoarding in CBSD is mostly related to purchased consumer goods and not associated with a higher symptom severity of CBSD. Further investigation into the specifics of hoarding in the context of CBSD is necessary.