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Attachment theory suggests that strong object attachment in hoarding disorder (HD) may be due to an attempt at compensating for unmet relatedness needs. We tested this compensatory process with an online experiment and hypothesized that reducing loneliness among participants with high hoarding symptoms would result in lower object attachment, and that change in loneliness would mediate the impact of an online loneliness intervention on object attachment. A pretest-posttest control group design was used. Participants were 298 MTurk workers pre-screened for high hoarding symptoms recruited via cloudresearch.com. At Time 1, participants completed measures of hoarding severity, loneliness, and four aspects of object attachment: overall object attachment to possessions, insecure object attachment, attachment to an old cherished item, and attachment to a novel item. We randomly assigned participants to either a loneliness intervention (n = 142) or an active control (a health education program; n = 156). All participants completed follow-up questionnaires after two weeks. We conducted ANCOVAs to assess for group differences at Time 2 whilst controlling for Time 1 variables. Results showed small but significant improvements in loneliness, thwarted belongingness, and object attachment for the novel item for participants who received the loneliness intervention relative to control participants. Mediational analyses revealed that the change in loneliness mediated the effect of the intervention on insecure object attachment. Consistent with attachment theory, these results indicate that reducing loneliness might lead to lower object attachment in hoarding disorder. Trials with clinical participants using more intensive loneliness interventions are warranted.
Attachment theory suggests that strong object attachment in hoarding disorder (HD) may be due to an attempt at compensating for unmet relatedness needs. We tested this compensatory process with an online experiment and hypothesized that reducing loneliness among participants with high hoarding symptoms would result in lower object attachment, and that change in loneliness would mediate the impact of an online loneliness intervention on object attachment. A pretest-posttest control group design was used. Participants were 298 MTurk workers pre-screened for high hoarding symptoms recruited via cloudresearch.com. At Time 1, participants completed measures of hoarding severity, loneliness, and four aspects of object attachment: overall object attachment to possessions, insecure object attachment, attachment to an old cherished item, and attachment to a novel item. We randomly assigned participants to either a loneliness intervention (n = 142) or an active control (a health education program; n = 156). All participants completed follow-up questionnaires after two weeks. We conducted ANCOVAs to assess for group differences at Time 2 whilst controlling for Time 1 variables. Results showed small but significant improvements in loneliness, thwarted belongingness, and object attachment for the novel item for participants who received the loneliness intervention relative to control participants. Mediational analyses revealed that the change in loneliness mediated the effect of the intervention on insecure object attachment. Consistent with attachment theory, these results indicate that reducing loneliness might lead to lower object attachment in hoarding disorder. Trials with clinical participants using more intensive loneliness interventions are warranted.
In hoarding disorder, features including attentional difficulties and emotion dysregulation can contribute to the core symptoms of clutter, difficulties discarding, and excessive acquisition. Boredom is a negative feeling state that shares a high level of overlap with associated features of hoarding, including inattention, depressive symptoms, and impulsivity, and has been implicated in compulsive buying behaviors. Boredom may be a particularly relevant factor in compulsive hoarding; however, this relationship remains significantly under-researched. The present studies aimed to thoroughly investigate associations between boredom and hoarding severity using diverse methodologies. Study 1 (N = 253) replicated, in an online community sample, previously reported positive associations between hoarding severity and recent state boredom while statistically controlling for potentially confounding variables (e.g., depression, indecisiveness), and extended these findings to include boredom proneness. In Study 2, individuals with elevated hoarding symptoms (n = 56) and a history of hoarding problems (n = 43) reported higher levels of recent state and trait boredom than controls (n = 61). Additionally, boredom was associated with performance on simulated acquiring and discarding tasks. Finally, Studies 3a (N = 144) and 3b (N = 146) attempted the first experimental tests of induced boredom on acquiring and discarding behaviors. Although results were mixed and preclude causal conclusions, exploratory analyses revealed that individuals reporting higher in-the-moment boredom took more (p = .008) and discarded fewer (p = .021) items on the simulated tasks. Overall, results suggest that boredom may have crucial implications in hoarding symptom severity.
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