Abstract
An essential criterion for hoarding disorder (HD) is difficulty parting with possessions, but relatively little research has been conducted on responses by people with HD during actual efforts to discard objects. Frost et al. (Behav Res Therapy 85:13–22, 2016) reported quantitative findings from a discarding task comparing those with HD to community control participants without significant hoarding symptoms (CC) on discarding behavior. The present study used qualitative data analysis of the verbal statements made by HD and CC participants while talking aloud about whether to discard or keep a personal object of low monetary value. Data were coded and analyzed using Atlas.ti software via an iterative process in order to examine thoughts reported during decision-making. Findings indicated that participants made more comments about reasons for saving than discarding and that HD participants reported more reasons to save and fewer reasons to discard than did CC participants. They also voiced more thoughts about emotions, both negative and positive, than did controls, especially for anxiety, anger and guilt and general distress. HD participants expressed more ambivalence about discarding compared to controls. Findings are discussed in relation to the cognitive and behavioural model for hoarding, previous findings regarding reasons for saving, and treatment implications.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The personal item discarding task was followed by a second task in which participants were asked to discard a magazine given to them by the experimenter. Those data are not included here.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
Ayers, C. R., Wetherell, J. L., Golshan, S., & Saxena, S. (2011). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for geriatric compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 689–694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2011.07.002.
Brown, T. A., Di Nardo, P. A., & Barlow, D. H. (1994). Anxiety disorders interview schedule for DSM-IV: Adult version. New York: Oxford University Press.
Brown, T. A., Di Nardo, P. A., Lehman, C. L., & Campbell, L. A. (2001). Reliability of DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders: Implications for the classification of emotional disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.110.1.49.
Chasson, G. S., Carpenter, A., Ewing, J., Gibby, B., & Lee, N. (2014). Empowering families to help a loved one with hoarding disorder: Pilot study of family-as-motivators training. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 63, 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2014.08.016.
DeRubeis, R. J., Evans, M. D., Hollon, S. D., Garvey, M. J., Grove, W. M., & Tuason, V. B. (1990). How does cognitive therapy work? Cognitive change and symptom change in cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy for depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 862–869. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.58.6.862.
Frost, R. O., & Gross, R. (1993). The hoarding of possessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 367–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(93)90094-B.
Frost, R. O., & Hartl, T. L. (1996). A cognitive-behavioral model of compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 341–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(95)00071-2.
Frost, R. O., Hartl, T., Christian, R., & Williams, N. (1995). The value of possessions in compulsive hoarding: Patterns of use and attachment. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 897–902. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(95)00043-W.
Frost, R. O., Kim, H. J., Morris, C., Bloss, C., Murray-Close, M., & Steketee, G. (1998). Hoarding, compulsive buying and reasons for saving. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 657–664. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(98)00056-4.
Frost, R. O., Ong, C., Steketee, G., & Tolin, D. F. (2016). Behavioral and emotional consequences of thought listing versus cognitive restructuring during discarding decisions in hoarding disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 85, 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2016.08.003.
Frost, R. O., & Shows, D. L. (1993). The nature and measurement of compulsive indecisiveness. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 683–692. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(93)90121-A.
Frost, R. O., & Steketee, G. (2010). Stuff: Hoarding and the meaning of things. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Frost, R. O., Steketee, G., & Grisham, J. (2004). Measurement of compulsive hoarding: Saving Inventory-Revised. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 1163–1182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2003.07.006.
Frost, R. O., Steketee, G., & Tolin, D. F. (2011a). Comorbidity in hoarding disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 28, 876–884. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20861.
Frost, R. O., Steketee, G., Tolin, D. F., Sinopoli, N., & Ruby, D. (2015). Motives for acquiring and saving in hoarding disorder, OCD, and community controls. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 4, 54–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2014.12.006.
Frost, R. O., Tolin, D. F., & Maltby, N. (2010). Insight-related challenges in the treatment of hoarding. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 17, 404–413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.07.004.
Frost, R. O., Tolin, D. F., Steketee, G., & Oh, M. (2011b). Indecisiveness and hoarding. International Journal of Clinical Psychotherapy, 4, 253–262. https://doi.org/10.1521/ijct.2011.4.3.253.
Furby, L. (1978). Possessions: Toward a theory of their meaning and function throughout the life cycle. In P. B. Baltes (Ed.), Life span development and behavior (pp. 297–336). New York: Academic Press.
Grisham, J. R., Brown, T. A., Savage, C. R., Steketee, G., & Barlow, D. H. (2007). Neuropsy- hological impairment associated with compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 1471–1483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2006.12.008.
Grisham, J. R., Norberg, M. M., Williams, A. D., Certoma, S. P., & Kadib, R. (2010). Categorization and cognitive deficits in compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 866–872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2010.05.011.
Hartl, T. L., Frost, R. O., Allen, G. J., Deckersbach, T., Steketee, G., Duffany, S. R., et al. (2004). Actual and perceived memory deficits in individuals with compulsive hoarding. Depression and Anxiety, 20, 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20010.
Hofmann, S. G., Meuret, A. E., Rosenfield, D., Suvak, M. K., Barlow, D. H., Gorman, J. M., et al. (2007). Preliminary evidence for cognitive mediation during cognitive-behavioral therapy of panic disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 374–379. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.75.3.374.
Kyrios, M. (2014). Psychological models of hoarding. In R. O. Frost & G. Steketee (Eds.), Handbook of hoarding and acquiring (pp. 206–220). New York: Oxford University Press.
Meyer, J. F., Frost, R. O., Brown, T. A., Steketee, G., & Tolin, D. F. (2013). A multitrait-multimethod matrix investigation of hoarding. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 2, 273–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2013.03.002.
Muroff, J., Steketee, G., Bratiotis, C., & Ross, A. (2012). Group cognitive and behavioral therapy and bibliotherapy for hoarding: A pilot trial. Depression and Anxiety, 29, 597–604. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.21923.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rodriguez, C. I., Hermon, D., Alcon, J., Chen, S., Tannen, A., Essock, S., et al. (2012). Prevalence of hoarding disorder in individuals at potential risk of eviction in New York City: A pilot study. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200, 91–94. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e31823f678b.
Saxena, S. (2008). Neurobiology and treatment of compulsive hoarding. CNS Spectrums, 13(Suppl 14), 29–36. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1092852900026912.
Smits, J. A., Rosenfield, D., McDonald, R., & Telch, M. J. (2006). Cognitive mechanisms of social anxiety reduction: An examination of specificity and temporality. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 1203–1212. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.74.6.1203.
Steketee, G., & Frost, R. O. (2003). Compulsive hoarding: Current status of the research. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 905–927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2003.08.002.
Steketee, G., & Frost, R. O. (2014). Treatment for hoarding disorder: Therapist guide (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Steketee, G., Frost, R. O., Tolin, D. F., Rasmussen, J., & Brown, T. A. (2010). Waitlist-controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy for hoarding disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 27, 476–484. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20673.
Timpano, K. R., Broman-Fulks, J. J., Glaesmer, H., Exner, C., Rief, W., Olatunji, B. O., et al. (2013). A taxometric exploration of the latent structure of hoarding. Psychological Assessment, 25, 194–203. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029966.
Timpano, K. R., & Shaw, A. M. (2013). Conferring humanness: The role of anthropomorphism in hoarding. Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 383–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.10.007.
Tolin, D. F., Fitch, K. E., Frost, R. O., & Steketee, G. (2010a). Family informants’ perception of insight in compulsive hoarding. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34, 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-008-9217-7.
Tolin, D., Frost, R., & Steketee, G. (2010b). A brief interview for assessing compulsive hoarding: The Hoarding Rating Scale. Psychiatry Research, 178, 147–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2009.05.001.
Tolin, D. F., Frost, R. O., Steketee, G., Gray, K. D., & Fitch, K. E. (2008). The economic and social burden of compulsive hoarding. Psychiatry Research, 160, 200–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2007.08.008.
Tolin, D. F., Frost, R. O., Steketee, G., & Muroff, J. (2015). Cognitive behavioral therapy for hoarding disorder: A meta-analysis. Depression and Anxiety, 32, 158–166. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22327.
Tolin, D. F., Kiehl, K. A., Worhunsky, P., Book, G. A., & Maltby, N. (2009). An exploratory study of the neural mechanisms of decision making in compulsive hoarding. Psychological Medicine, 39, 325–336. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291708003371.
Tolin, D. F., Stevens, M. C., Villavicencio, A. L., Norberg, M. M., Calhoun, V. D., Frost, R. O., et al. (2012). Neural mechanisms of decision making in hoarding disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69, 832–841. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.1980.
Tolin, D. F., & Villavicencio, A. (2011). An exploration of economic reasoning in hoarding disorder patients. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 914–919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2011.09.005.
Tolin, D. F., Villavicencio, A., Umbach, A., & Kurtz, M. M. (2011). Neuropsychological functioning in hoarding disorder. Psychiatry Research, 189, 413–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2011.06.022.
Warren, L. W., & Ostrom, J. C. (1988). Pack rats: World class savers. Psychology Today, 22, 58–62.
Wincze, J. P., Steketee, G., & Frost, R. O. (2007). Categorization in compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 63–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2006.01.012.
Funding
This study was funded by Grants from the National Institute of Mental Health to Randy Frost (R01 MH068008) and Gail Steketee (R01 MH068007).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of Interest
Christiana Bratiotis, Gail Steketee, Randy O. Frost, and David F. Tolin have received royalties from Oxford University Press. JoAnn Dohn and Carole A. Calderon have no conflicts of interests to disclose.
Informed Consent
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Animal Rights
No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bratiotis, C., Steketee, G., Dohn, J. et al. Should I Keep It? Thoughts Verbalized During a Discarding Task. Cogn Ther Res 43, 1075–1085 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-019-10025-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-019-10025-y