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Hoarding: a review
D J Stein1, S Seedat, F Potocnik
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, South Africa.
Insights
Hoarding disorder, often linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), requires more research. Understanding hoarding as a spectrum symptom across various conditions is key for better treatment and clinical practice.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Hoarding is currently classified as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.
- Its association with other psychiatric disorders raises questions regarding classification, psychobiology, and treatment.
- This review synthesizes existing literature on hoarding behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current literature on hoarding.
- To explore the classification and understanding of hoarding symptoms.
- To identify gaps in knowledge regarding hoarding's psychobiology and treatment.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the MEDLINE database.
- Relevant references were systematically collected and analyzed.
- Additional literature on hoarding behavior was obtained through reference chaining.
Main Results:
- Hoarding symptoms, while potentially meeting criteria for compulsions, appear across diverse psychiatric disorders.
- The phenomenology of hoarding remains significantly under-researched.
- The psychobiology and treatment of hoarding are poorly understood, with potential overlaps with OCD symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Extensive research is needed on hoarding's phenomenology, psychobiology, and treatment.
- A neuro-ethological perspective viewing hoarding as a spectrum symptom is proposed.
- This perspective may offer a valuable framework for clinical practice and future research.
Background:
Hoarding is currently categorized as a symptom of both obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. However, hoarding has also been documented in association with other psychiatric disorders, raising questions about the classification, psychobiology and treatment of these symptoms. This paper reviews the literature on hoarding.
Method:
A computerized literature search was done using the MEDLINE database. Relevant references were collated and were used to obtain additional literature on hoarding behavior.
Results:
Although hoarding may meet DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for a compulsion, this symptom is also seen in a range of other disorders. Nevertheless, the phenomenology of hoarding remains under-researched. In addition, the psychobiology and treatment of hoarding remains relatively poorly understood, although in certain aspects there may be some overlap with the symptoms of OCD.
Conclusions:
Further research on the phenomenology, psychobiology and treatment of hoarding is clearly needed. A neuro-ethological view of hoarding as a spectrum symptom seen not only in OCD, but also in other disorders, may provide a useful heuristic for current clinical practice and for future empirical research.