Psychosocial impact of hoarding symptoms in college students and the potential for early intervention

Objective: Hoarding disorder is a chronic and progressive psychiatric disorder that often begins in adolescence and early adulthood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of hoarding severity on college students’ psychosocial functioning and possible methods of early intervention. Participants: Undergraduate students (N = 363) at a large public university in the United States. Methods: Participants completed a self-report battery that included their parental history of clutter, perceptions about possible interventions for clutter, and standardized measures of hoarding severity, psychiatric symptoms, and psychosocial functioning. Results: Hoarding symptom severity predicted significant unique variance in emotional support and companionship, even when controlling for comorbid psychiatric symptoms. The main reasons endorsed by participants for disorganization of their objects despite adequate storage space were “lack of time” (37%), “easily distracted” (26%), and “procrastination” (34%). Conclusions: Emerging adults may benefit from early intervention focused on time management, attentional control, and consistent motivation.