Measurement of compulsive hoarding: saving inventory-revised

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychopathology

Background:

• Compulsive hoarding is a complex condition characterized by difficulty discarding possessions.
• Existing measures may not fully capture the multifaceted nature of hoarding symptoms.
• A validated instrument is needed for accurate assessment in clinical and research settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the Saving Inventory-Revised (SI-R) as a measure of compulsive hoarding.
• To examine the psychometric properties of the SI-R in diverse populations.
• To assess the SI-R's ability to differentiate hoarding from other conditions.

Main Methods:

• Four studies involving participants with hoarding disorder, OCD without hoarding, community controls, and elderly individuals.
• Factor analysis to identify underlying dimensions of hoarding.
• Reliability (internal consistency, test-retest) and validity (correlations with other measures) analyses.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis revealed three core factors: difficulty discarding, excessive clutter, and excessive acquisition.
• The SI-R demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability.
• The SI-R effectively distinguished hoarding participants from all non-hoarding comparison groups.
• The SI-R showed strong correlations with hoarding-specific measures and weaker correlations with general psychological constructs.

Conclusions:

• The Saving Inventory-Revised (SI-R) is a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing compulsive hoarding.
• The SI-R is suitable for use in both clinical and non-clinical samples.
• This measure aids in the accurate diagnosis and study of hoarding disorder.