Hoarding Disorder: Real-Life Examples and Case Studies in AP Psychology

📚 Quick Study Guide: Hoarding Disorder

• 📝 Definition: Hoarding Disorder is characterized by persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value. This difficulty is due to a perceived need to save the items and distress associated with discarding them.
• 🔍 Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-5): Key criteria include persistent difficulty discarding possessions, a perceived need to save items, distress associated with discarding, accumulation of possessions that congest active living areas, and clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
• 👀 Key Symptoms: Excessive acquisition (e.g., compulsive buying, collecting free items), clutter that obstructs living spaces (making them unusable for their intended purpose), significant distress when faced with discarding items, and impaired daily functioning (e.g., inability to cook, sleep, or bathe in designated areas).
• 🧠 Associated Features: Often co-occurs with other mental health conditions like Major Depressive Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), though it is now recognized as a distinct disorder from OCD.
• 💔 Impact on Life: Can lead to unsafe living conditions (e.g., fire hazards, sanitation issues), social isolation, family conflict, financial strain, and legal problems (e.g., eviction or loss of housing).
• 💡 Cognitive Aspects: Individuals with hoarding disorder often have dysfunctional beliefs about their possessions (e.g., "I might need this someday," "It's unique and irreplaceable," "It has immense sentimental value"), problems with information processing, and strong emotional attachment to inanimate objects.
• 🩺 Treatment Approaches: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) specifically tailored for hoarding disorder is the primary treatment. It focuses on decluttering, organizing, skill-building for discarding, and challenging dysfunctional beliefs. Medication (e.g., SSRIs) may be used, especially if comorbid conditions are present.

🧠 Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following is a primary diagnostic criterion for Hoarding Disorder according to the DSM-5?
A) Engaging in repetitive, ritualistic behaviors related to cleanliness.
B) Persistent difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their actual value.
C) Experiencing recurrent, intrusive thoughts about contamination.
D) A preoccupation with perceived flaws in one's physical appearance.

2. A student observes their grandparent's house is so full of newspapers, old clothes, and empty boxes that many rooms are unusable for their intended purpose. This situation most directly illustrates which aspect of Hoarding Disorder?
A) Excessive acquisition of new items.
B) Clinically significant distress or impairment.
C) Accumulation of possessions that congest active living areas.
D) A perceived need to save items due to sentimental value.

3. Hoarding Disorder is often distinguished from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) primarily because:
A) Hoarding involves a lack of insight into the problem, while OCD typically involves good insight.
B) Hoarding focuses on saving possessions, while OCD obsessions/compulsions are often unrelated to saving items.
C) OCD symptoms are ego-syntonic, whereas hoarding symptoms are ego-dystonic.
D) Hoarding is exclusively genetic, while OCD is purely environmental.

4. Mrs. Davis feels intense anxiety and distress whenever she considers throwing away an old magazine or a broken appliance, believing "it might be useful someday" or "it's too wasteful to discard." This describes which core feature of Hoarding Disorder?
A) Compulsive buying behavior.
B) Delusional beliefs about item value.
C) Perceived need to save items and distress associated with discarding.
D) Social isolation as a primary symptom.

5. Which of the following is considered the most effective psychological treatment for Hoarding Disorder?
A) Psychodynamic therapy focusing on early childhood trauma.
B) Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy.
C) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) specifically adapted for hoarding.
D) Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT).

6. A key difference between typical collecting and Hoarding Disorder is that individuals with Hoarding Disorder typically:
A) Organize their collections meticulously.
B) Experience significant distress and impairment due to their accumulation.
C) Collect items of high monetary value.
D) Share their collections with others for enjoyment.

7. Which cognitive distortion is commonly observed in individuals with Hoarding Disorder?
A) Catastrophizing future events.
B) All-or-nothing thinking about personal worth.
C) Overgeneralization of past failures.
D) Dysfunctional beliefs about the usefulness and sentimental value of possessions.

Click to see Answers

1. B
2. C
3. B
4. C
5. C
6. B
7. D