Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T22:01:57.109Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hoarding among older people: an evaluative review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2016

Graham R. Thew  and
Paul M. Salkovskis
Graham R. Thew*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, UK
Paul M. Salkovskis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, UK
*
*Author for correspondence: Dr G. R. Thew, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK. (email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

While there is considerable evidence that the factors involved in hoarding typically begin to manifest early in life (mostly in adolescence), the majority of those sampled in research studies are in their later years. As so much of our understanding of the psychological factors involved in hoarding is derived from those who are older and more chronically affected, the core hoarding psychopathology may have been masked, overlaid or even disregarded in previous research and in our approaches to clinical intervention. That is, factors relating primarily to chronicity of the problem and feelings of demoralization, hopelessness, loss and the extent of the damage caused to the person's life may swamp the processes which led to and maintain the problem. The present review examines the extent to which this is so and considers theoretical and clinical implications. The literature relevant to hoarding in later life was reviewed evaluatively in relation to a number of questions placing hoarding in a lifespan developmental context. Many studies relied on purely descriptive methodologies, meaning that typical case presentations and case histories are well documented, with less attention paid to underlying causal and maintaining mechanisms. Efforts to identify and control for factors relating to age or problem chronicity were minimal. A key future direction is the identification of younger samples of people who hoard in order to identify more clearly the processes which drive acquisition and retention of excessive amounts of material.

Keywords

Ageinghoardingolder adultsreview
Type
Review
Information
the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist , Volume 9 , 2016 , e32
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Recommended follow-up reading

Gordon, OM, Salkovskis, PM, Oldfield, VB (2013). Beliefs and experiences in hoarding. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 27, 328–339.Google Scholar
Grisham, JR, Frost, RO, Steketee, G, Kim, HJ, Hood, S (2006). Age of onset of compulsive hoarding. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 20, 675–686.Google Scholar
Jorm, AF (2000). Does old age reduce the risk of anxiety and depression? A review of epidemiological studies across the adult life span. Psychological Medicine 30, 11–22.Google Scholar

References

Altamura, AC, Buoli, M, Albano, A, Dell'Osso, B (2010). Age at onset and latency to treatment (duration of untreated illness) in patients with mood and anxiety disorders: a naturalistic study. International Clinical Psychopharmacology 25, 172–179.Google Scholar
Andersen, E, Raffin-Bouchal, S, Marcy-Edwards, D (2008). Reasons to accumulate excess: older adults who hoard possessions. Home Health Care Services Quarterly 27, 187–216.Google Scholar
Ayers, CR, Bratiotis, C, Saxena, , S, Wetherell, JL (2012 a). Therapist and patient perspectives on cognitive-behavioral therapy for older adults with hoarding disorder: a collective case study. Aging & Mental Health 16, 915–921.Google Scholar
Ayers, CR, Dozier, ME (2015). Predictors of hoarding severity in older adults with hoarding disorder. International Psychogeriatrics 27, 1147–1156.Google Scholar
Ayers, CR, Dozier, ME, Wetherell, JL, Twamley, EW, Schiehser, DM (2016). Executive functioning in participants over age of 50 with hoarding disorder. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 24, 342–349.Google Scholar
Ayers, CR, Najmi, S, Mayes, TL, Dozier, ME (2015). Hoarding disorder in older adulthood. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 23, 416–422.Google Scholar
Ayers, CR, Saxena, S, Golshan, S, Wetherell, JL (2010). Age at onset and clinical features of late life compulsive hoarding. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 25, 142–149.Google Scholar
Ayers, CR, Schiehser, D, Liu, L, Wetherell, JL (2012 b). Functional impairment in geriatric hoarding participants. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders 1, 263–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayers, CR, Wetherell, JL, Golshan, S, Saxena, S (2011). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for geriatric compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy 49, 689–694.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ayers, CR, Wetherell, JL, Schiehser, D, Almklov, E, Golshan, S, Saxena, S (2013). Executive functioning in older adults with hoarding disorder. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 28, 1175–1181.Google Scholar
Baker, JC, LeBlanc, LA, Raetz, PB, Hilton, LC (2011). Assessment and treatment of hoarding in an individual with dementia. Behavior Therapy 42, 135–142.Google Scholar
Beekman, ATF, Bremmer, MA, Deeg, DJH, Van Balkom, A, Smit, JH, De Beurs, E, van Dyck, R, van Tillburg, W (1998). Anxiety disorders in later life: a report from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 13, 717–726.Google Scholar
Blake, E, Dobson, KS, Sheptycki, AR, Drapeau, M (2016). Changes in cognitive errors over the course of cognitive therapy for depression. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy 30, 16–34.Google Scholar
Calamari, JE, Pontarelli, NK, Armstrong, KM, Salstrom, SA (2012). Obsessive-compulsive disorder in late-life. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 19, 136–150.Google Scholar
Cermele, JA, Melendez-Pallitto, L, Pandina, GJ (2001). Intervention in compulsive hoarding: a case study. Behavior Modification 25, 214–232.Google Scholar
Chapin, RK, Sergeant, JF, Landry, ST, Koenig, T, Leiste, M, Reynolds, K (2010). Hoarding cases involving older adults: the transition from a private matter to the public sector. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 53, 723–742.Google Scholar
Cottraux, J, Note, I, Yao, SN, Lafont, S, Note, B, Mollard, E, Bouvard, M, Sauteraud, A, Bourgeois, M, Dartigues, J-F (2001). A randomized controlled trial of cognitive therapy versus intensive behavior therapy in obsessive compulsive disorder. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 70, 288–297.Google Scholar
Diefenbach, GJ, DiMauro, J, Frost, R, Steketee, G, Tolin, DF (2013). Characteristics of hoarding in older adults. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 21, 1043–1047.Google Scholar
Dong, X, Simon, MA, Mosqueda, L, Evans, DA (2012). The prevalence of elder self-neglect in a community-dwelling population: hoarding, hygiene, and environmental hazards. Journal of Aging and Health 24, 507–524.Google Scholar
Dozier, ME, Porter, B, Ayers, CR (2016 a). Age of onset and progression of hoarding symptoms in older adults with hoarding disorder. Aging & Mental Health 20, 736–742.Google Scholar
Dozier, ME, Wetherell, JL, Twamley, EW, Schiehser, DM, Ayers, CR (2016 b). The relationship between age and neurocognitive and daily functioning in adults with hoarding disorder. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Published online: 14 February 2016. doi:10.1002/gps.4438.Google Scholar
Eckfield, MB, Wallhagen, MI (2013). The synergistic effect of growing older with hoarding behaviors. Clinical Nursing Research 22, 475–491.Google Scholar
Ellis, JC, Mullan, J, Worsley, T (2011). Prescription medication hoarding and borrowing or sharing behaviours in older residents in the Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia. Australasian Journal on Ageing 30, 119–123.Google Scholar
Franks, M, Lund, DA, Poulton, D, Caserta, MS (2004). Understanding hoarding behavior among older adults. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 42, 77–107.Google Scholar
Frost, RO, Gross, RC (1993). The hoarding of possessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy 31, 367–381.Google Scholar
Frost, RO, Hartl, TL (1996). A cognitive-behavioral model of compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy 34, 341–350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frost, RO, Hartl, TL, Christian, R, Williams, N (1995). The value of possessions in compulsive hoarding: patterns of use and attachment. Behaviour Research and Therapy 33, 897–902.Google Scholar
Gordon, OM, Salkovskis, PM, Oldfield, VB (2013). Beliefs and experiences in hoarding. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 27, 328–339.Google Scholar
Grant, BF, Hasin, DS, Blanco, C, Stinson, FS, Chou, SP, Goldstein, RB, Dawson, DA, Smith, S, Saha, TD, Huang, B (2005). The epidemiology of social anxiety disorder in the United States: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 66, 1351–1361.Google Scholar
Grisham, JR, Frost, RO, Steketee, G, Kim, HJ, Hood, S (2006). Age of onset of compulsive hoarding. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 20, 675–686.Google Scholar
Halbreich, U (2003). Anxiety disorders in women: a developmental and lifecycle perspective. Depression and Anxiety 17, 107–110.Google Scholar
Hogstel, MO (1993). Understanding hoarding behaviors in the elderly. American Journal of Nursing 93, 42.Google Scholar
Hwang, JP, Tsai, SJ, Yang, CH, Liu, KM, Ling, JF (1998). Hoarding behavior in dementia: a preliminary report. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 6, 285–289.Google Scholar
Jorm, AF (2000). Does old age reduce the risk of anxiety and depression? A review of epidemiological studies across the adult life span. Psychological Medicine 30, 11–22.Google Scholar
Kim, HJ, Steketee, G, Frost, RO (2001). Hoarding by elderly people. Health & Social Work 26, 176– 184.Google Scholar
Kim, SK, McKay, D, Taylor, S, Tolin, DF, Olatunji, B, Timpano, K, Abramowitz, J (2016). The structure of obsessive compulsive symptoms and beliefs: a correspondence and biplot analysis. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 38, 79–87.Google Scholar
Koenig, TL, Chapin, R, Spano, R (2010). Using multidisciplinary teams to address ethical dilemmas with older adults who hoard. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 53, 137–147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koenig, TL, Leiste, MR, Spano, R, Chapin, RK (2013). Multidisciplinary team perspectives on older adult hoarding and mental illness. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect 25, 56–75.Google Scholar
Krasucki, C, Howard, R, Mann, A (1998). The relationship between anxiety disorders and age. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 13, 79–99.3.0.CO;2-G>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Landau, D, Iervolino, AC, Pertusa, A, Santo, S, Singh, S, Mataix-Cols, D (2011). Stressful life events and material deprivation in hoarding disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 25, 192–202.Google Scholar
Lee, SM (2010). Hoarding in older people: the role of the Aged Care Assessment Service. Australasian Journal on Ageing 29, 134–134.Google Scholar
Lee, SM, LoGiudice, D (2012). Phenomenology of squalor, hoarding and self-neglect: an Australian aged care perspective. Internal Medicine Journal 42, 98–101.Google Scholar
Luchian, SA, McNally, RJ, Hooley, JM (2007). Cognitive aspects of nonclinical obsessive-compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy 45, 1657–1662.Google Scholar
Luyten, P, Sabbe, B, Blatt, SJ, Meganck, S, Jansen, B, De Grave, C, Maes, F, Corveleyn, J (2007). Dependency and self-criticism: relationship with major depressive disorder, severity of depression, and clinical presentation. Depression and Anxiety 24, 586–596.Google Scholar
Mackin, RS, Areán, PA, Delucchi, KL, Mathews, CA (2011). Cognitive functioning in individuals with severe compulsive hoarding behaviors and late life depression. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 26, 314–321.Google Scholar
Maier, T (2004). On phenomenology and classification of hoarding: a review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 110, 323–337.Google Scholar
Manela, M, Katona, C, Livingston, G (1996). How common are the anxiety disorders in old age? International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 11, 65–70.Google Scholar
Marx, MS, Cohen-Mansfield, J (2003). Hoarding behavior in the elderly: a comparison between community-dwelling persons and nursing home residents. International Psychogeriatrics 15, 289–306.Google Scholar
Mataix-Cols, D, Frost, RO, Pertusa, A, Clark, LA, Saxena, S, Leckman, JF, Stein, DJ, Matsunaga, H, Wilhelm, S (2010). Hoarding disorder: a new diagnosis for DSM-V? Depression and Anxiety 27, 556–572.Google Scholar
Mataix-Cols, D, Pertusa, A (2012). Annual Research Review: hoarding disorder: potential benefits and pitfalls of a new mental disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 53, 608–618.Google Scholar
Mueller, A, Mitchell, JE, Crosby, RD, Glaesmer, H, De Zwaan, M (2009). The prevalence of compulsive hoarding and its association with compulsive buying in a German population-based sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy 47, 705–709.Google Scholar
Nordsletten, AE, Reichenberg, A, Hatch, SL, de la Cruz, LF, Pertusa, A, Hotopf, M, Mataix-Cols, D (2013). Epidemiology of hoarding disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry 203, 445–452.Google Scholar
O'Sullivan, SS, Djamshidian, A, Evans, AH, Loane, CM, Lees, AJ, Lawrence, AD (2010). Excessive hoarding in Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders 25, 1026–1033.Google Scholar
Pertusa, A, Fullana, M, Singh, S, Alonso, P, Menchón, J, Mataix-Cols, D (2008). Compulsive hoarding: OCD symptom, distinct clinical syndrome, or both? American Journal of Psychiatry 165, 1289–1298.Google Scholar
Poythress, EL, Burnett, J, Naik, AD, Pickens, S, Dyer, CB (2007). Severe self-neglect: an epidemiological and historical perspective. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect 18, 5–12.Google Scholar
Reid, JM, Arnold, E, Rosen, S, Mason, G, Larson, MJ, Murphy, TK, Storch, EA (2011). Hoarding behaviors among nonclinical elderly adults: correlations with hoarding cognitions, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and measures of general psychopathology. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 25, 1116–1122.Google Scholar
Reinisch, AI (2009). Characteristics of six recent animal hoarding cases in Manitoba. Canadian Veterinary Journal 50, 1069.Google Scholar
Rimes, KA, Watkins, E (2005). The effects of self-focused rumination on global negative self-judgements in depression. Behaviour Research and Therapy 43, 1673–1681.Google Scholar
Samuels, J, Bienvenu, OJ, Grados, MA, Cullen, B, Riddle, MA, Liang, K, Eaton, WW, Nestadt, G (2008). Prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior in a community-based sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy 46, 836–844.Google Scholar
Schroepfer, T, Ingersoll-Dayton, B (2001). Caregiver mastery of hoarding behavior in a patient with dementia. Clinical Gerontologist 22, 109–135.Google Scholar
Stein, DJ, Laszlo, B, Marais, E, Seedat, S, Potocnik, F (1997). Hoarding symptoms in patients on a geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit (http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/7216).Google Scholar
Steketee, G, Frost, RO (2003). Compulsive hoarding: current status of the research. Clinical Psychology Review 23, 905–927.Google Scholar
Steketee, G, Frost, RO, Kyrios, M (2003). Cognitive aspects of compulsive hoarding. Cognitive Therapy and Research 27, 463–479.Google Scholar
Steketee, G, Schmalisch, CS, Dierberger, A, DeNobel, D, Frost, RO (2012). Symptoms and history of hoarding in older adults. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders 1, 1–7.Google Scholar
Thomas, ND (1998). Hoarding: eccentricity or pathology: when to intervene? Journal of Gerontological Social Work 29, 45–55.Google Scholar
Tolin, DF, Frost, RO, Steketee, G (2007). An open trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy for compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy 45, 1461–1470.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tolin, DF, Frost, RO, Steketee, G, Gray, KD, Fitch, KE (2008). The economic and social burden of compulsive hoarding. Psychiatry Research 160, 200–211.Google Scholar
Tolin, DF, Meunier, SA, Frost, RO, Steketee, G (2010). Course of compulsive hoarding and its relationship to life events. Depression and Anxiety 27, 829–838.Google Scholar
Turner, K, Steketee, G, Nauth, L (2010). Treating elders with compulsive hoarding: a pilot program. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 17, 449–457.Google Scholar
Visser, HA, van Oppen, P, van Megen, HJ, Eikelenboom, M, van Balkom, AJ (2014). Obsessive-compulsive disorder; chronic versus non-chronic symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders 152, 169–174.Google Scholar
Volpato Cordioli, A, Heldt, E, Braga Bochi, D, Margis, R, Basso de Sousa, M, Fonseca Tonello, J, Gus, Manfro G, Kapczinski, F (2003). Cognitive-behavioral group therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a randomized clinical trial. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 72, 211–216.Google Scholar
Ward, E, King, M, Lloyd, M, Bower, P, Sibbald, B, Farrelly, S, Gabbay, M, Tarrier, N, Addington-Hall, J (2000). Randomised controlled trial of non-directive counselling, cognitive-behaviour therapy, and usual general practitioner care for patients with depression. I: clinical effectiveness. British Medical Journal 321, 1383–1388.Google Scholar
Whitfield, KY, Daniels, JS, Flesaker, K, Simmons, D (2011). Older adults with hoarding behaviour aging in place: looking to a collaborative community-based planning approach for solutions. Journal of Aging Research. Published online: 12 October 2011. doi:10.1155/2012/205425.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.