Characterizing Hoarding Disorder Across the Lifespan: Recent Research from Pediatrics to Geriatrics
3 - (SYM 26) Assessing Mental Health Providers' Perspectives on Youth Hoarding
Friday, November 21, 2025
5:32 PM - 5:46 PM CST
Location: Bolden 4, Level 2
Keywords: Hoarding, Early Intervention, Social Skills Training Recommended Readings: Cath, D. C., Nizar, K., Boomsma, D., & Mathews, C. A. (2017). Age-specific prevalence of hoarding and obsessive compulsive disorder: a population-based study. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25(3), 245-255., Dozier, M. E., Porter, B., & Ayers, C. R. (2016). Age of onset and progression of hoarding symptoms in older adults with hoarding disorder. Aging and Mental Health, 20(7), 736-742. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2015.1033684, Nix, C. A., Dozier, M. E., Porter, B., & Ayers, C. R. (2024). Clinician Sentiments Related to Implementation of Evidence-Based Treatment for Hoarding in Older Adults. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 46, 683–694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-024-10140-5, Prosser, R. M., Salkovskis, P. M., & Dennis, J. P. (2024). Understanding stigma in hoarding disorder: A systematic review. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 100872., Stumpf, B. P., De Souza, L. C., Mourão, M. S., Rocha, F. L., Fontenelle, L. F., & Barbosa, I. G. (2023). Cognitive impairment in hoarding disorder: a systematic review. CNS spectrums, 28(3), 300-312.
Abstract Body Mean onset of hoarding symptoms is in late adolescence. Prevalence estimates for HD range from 1-2% in adolescence, but the stability of this diagnosis in this population is questionable. While hoarding symptoms at one time point seem to predict higher hoarding symptomatology a few years later, it is unclear whether it predicts HD in adulthood. Achieving diagnostic clarity in youth is difficult because 10% of youth exhibit hoarding behaviors (HB), but these can also be attributed to common childhood diagnoses like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study utilized a survey sent out to licensed mental health providers in the U.S. It included a vignette depicting an adolescent with HB. Participants were asked to answer quantitative and qualitative questions about the vignette and youth hoarding broadly. A total of 184 participants were included in the analyses. On average, clinicians had 9.72 years of clinical experience, and the sample represented a wide range of clinical and geographical settings. About half (51.00%) listed HD as a primary or differential diagnosis for the individual in the vignette and a mean of 70.98% likelihood they would recommend treatment. They also thought that the child depicted in the vignette was fairly likely to meet criteria for HD if left untreated (68.52%). On average, participants reported having treated 9.30 youth with HB (range 0-48) and 6.86 youth with HD (range 0-45). They generally agreed that children could meet criteria for HD (mean=5.08 on scale from 1-6), but were less convinced that the current DSM criteria were adequate for youth (mean=4.06, scale range 1-6). Clinicians’ reported concerns with the current DSM criteria for HD in youth will also be presented. This is the first known large-scale study to asses provider perspectives of youth hoarding. Limitations include lack of confirmation regarding licensure status and the use of a single vignette, which may not be an accurate representation of youth hoarding behaviors.
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