4 - (SYM 26) A Feasibility Study of Early Intervention Group Therapy for Hoarding in Emerging Adults

Hoarding symptoms begin in late adolescence and early adulthood. However, despite the growing body of work to develop and evaluate treatments for hoarding disorder, little attention has been given to extending these efforts to early intervention. Intervening at an earlier stage (i.e., during emerging adulthood) when symptoms have not yet met clinical levels may prevent decades of clutter accumulation and the consequences that follow. In this ongoing study, we screened and recruited emerging adults for a feasibility pilot of an early intervention group for hoarding.  

Potential participants were recruited through flyers posted on a university campus, Instagram ads, and as course credit for psychology courses. A self-selected sample of adults (N=388) ages 18 to 24 completed a brief screening survey. Although only 18% reported heightened difficulty discarding possessions, 61% reported elevated levels of object acquisition and 30% reported high levels of object attachment. Of the 26 participants who provided their phone number to be contacted about the treatment study, five were able to be scheduled for the comprehensive baseline assessment that confirmed elevations in hoarding and/or object attachment.  

The group treatment was designed to address symptoms of hoarding (e.g., difficulty discarding, excessive acquisition, clutter, and object attachment) using skills based on the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for hoarding disorder manual developed by Tolin et al. (2017). In addition to CBT skills, each session starts with two social skills training exercises. This is to address interpersonal dysfunction, which often occurs alongside and may contribute to hoarding symptoms (Yap & Grisham, 2021). Participants demonstrated engagement with the material by participating in exercises/homework, establishing and working towards goals, and providing feedback.  

The high proportion of respondents above clinical cutoffs on scale items highlights the relatively common presence of, and therefore the need to address, elevated hoarding symptoms in emerging adults. Understanding young adults’ ability to engage in an early intervention for hoarding is a critical first step in the developmental pipeline towards broad implementation of strategies to prevent the development of chronic and progressive hoarding. This presentation will discuss how the group participants responded to the session material and the potential for wider implementation of early intervention groups for hoarding disorder on college campuses.