Emotional attachment to objects mediates the relationship between loneliness and hoarding symptoms

Investigating associations between hoarding symptoms and affective and cognitive empathy

“…Despite these limitations, the current study advanced our limited knowledge of social skills difficulties associated with hoarding. Although poor interpersonal well-being in hoarding disorder has been established (e.g., Burgess et al, 2018;Yap et al 2020), research on the specific areas that can be targeted to improve interpersonal functioning is scarce. Results of this study showed that hoarding was associated with greater emotional contagion and reduced cognitive empathy on self-report.…”

“…Many individuals who hoard experience shame and embarrassment about their clutter and become socially isolated (Chou et al, 2018;Saxena & Maidment, 2004). Therefore, unsurprisingly, many individuals with HD experience high levels of loneliness and social isolation (Burgess, Graves, & Frost, 2018;Samuels et al, 2008;Yap, Eppingstall, Brennan, Le, & Grisham, 2020). Consistent with these interpersonal difficulties, there is preliminary evidence that individuals with hoarding disorder struggle in the skills required to develop relationships with other people, such as emotion regulation (Grisham, Martyn, Kerin, Baldwin, & Norberg, 2018).…”

Can a virtual environment enhance understanding of hoarding deficits? A pilot investigation

“…Additionally, many studies that focused on hoarding and its association with social anxiety have found that people with hoarding disorder presented high levels of social inactivity, social withdrawal due to marriage issues, family conflict, and feelings of shame due to their hoarding tendencies (Frost, Steketee, & Williams, 2000;Grisham & Barlow, 2005;Steketee, Frost, Wincze, Greene, & Douglass, 2000). Yap et al (2020) suggested that individuals with hoarding disorder accumulated items to compensate for unmet social connections, to feel a sense of comfort and security, and to reduce feelings of loneliness. Therefore, the negative emotions involved with hoarding such as fear and sadness, may be explained by the strong emotional connections formed with the possessions, as losing these objects may result in a feeling that one is losing their comfort and security (see also .…”

“…Hoarding disorder is a chronic progressive mental health problem characterised by accumulation of objects, cluttered living spaces, and pronounced difficulty discarding possessions ( American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ; Williams and Viscusi, 2016 ). Motivation to hoard has been linked to: (i) fear associated with discarding items, due to the belief that they may be needed in the future ( Frost et al., 2018 ); (ii) exaggerated sentimental value on each item; (iii) sharing strong emotional attachments with possessional to compensate for unmet social bonds ( Yap et al., 2020 ; Yap and Grisham, 2019 ); (iv) difficulties in decision-making ( Tolin et al., 2012 ), categorisation and organisation; and (v) being driven by maladaptive beliefs on the responsibility of possessions ( Steketee et al., 2003 ; Williams and Viscusi, 2016 ). Concern about failing to remember which items one has already accumulated, and a need for control over one's environment have also been cited as contributors to hoarding disorder ( Kyrios et al., 2018 ), with other motivations for hoarding include information value, emotional reasons, aversion to waste, and aesthetic reasons ( Frost et al., 2015 ).…”

“…Modern recognition of hoarding disorder contextualised it to a chronic progressive course, in which feelings of distress result in the accumulation of objects, to a point that living spaces cannot be utilised for their intended purpose (DSM5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Williams & Viscusi, 2016). The act of accumulating possessions was commonly explained by the following reasons: (i) fear associated with discarding items, due to the belief that they may be needed in the future (Frost et al, 2018), (ii) exaggerated sentimental value on each item, (iii) sharing strong emotional attachments with possessions, to compensate for unmet social bonds (Yap, Eppingstall, Brennan, Le, & Grisham, 2020;Yap & Grisham, 2019), (iv) difficulties in decisionmaking (Tolin et al, 2012), categorisation and organisation, or (v) being driven by maladaptive beliefs on the responsibility of possessions (Steketee, Frost, & Kyrios, 2003;Williams & Viscusi, 2016). At a clinical level, compulsive hoarding entails high health risks, such as increasing the likelihood of fires, severe injuries from perambulating within the property, deplorable hygiene conditions, inability to perform regular household tasks, and others (Williams & Viscusi, 2016).…”