According to new research, people with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are much more prone to engage in hoarding behaviors, which can have a negative influence on their quality of life.
The study, which was funded by the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust and published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, discovered that nearly one in every five people with ADHD had clinically significant levels of hoarding, implying that there could be a hidden population of adults struggling with hoarding and its consequences.
Hoarding Disorder is a recognized disorder characterized by excessive accumulation, difficulty discarding, and excessive clutter. The disease can cause distress or difficulty in daily living, as well as contribute to despair and anxiety.
Previous studies on Hoarding Disorder have primarily focused on elderly females who identify as hoarders and seek therapy later in life. This new study, directed by Dr Sharon Morein of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), recruited 88 participants from the Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust’s adult ADHD clinic.
Overall, we discovered that people who had been diagnosed with ADHD were more likely to have hoarding symptoms. This is significant because it shows that hoarding does not only impact persons in their older years, who have been the focus of much of the study into Hoarding Disorder thus far.
Dr. Morein
The study discovered that 19% of this ADHD group had clinically severe hoarding symptoms, were in their 30s on average, and had an equal gender split. The remaining 81% had more severe hoarding, but not to the extent that it seriously harmed their lives, according to the study’s control group.
The researchers asked the same questions about ADHD symptoms and impulsivity, hoarding and clutter levels, obsessive-compulsive severity, perfectionism, depression and anxiety, and everyday function in a closely matched group of 90 adults from the general population who did not have an ADHD diagnosis, and discovered that only 2% of this control group had clinically significant hoarding symptoms.
They then replicated this with a larger online sample of 220 UK adults to see if similar patterns were found, and similarly, only 3% of this group exhibited symptoms.
“Hoarding Disorder is much more than simply collecting too many possessions,” said Dr. Morein, Associate Professor in Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). People with Hoarding Disorder have crammed their living spaces with so many objects and clutter that it interferes with their day-to-day functioning, resulting in a worse quality of life, anxiety, and sadness.
“Overall, we discovered that people who had been diagnosed with ADHD were more likely to have hoarding symptoms. This is significant because it shows that hoarding does not only impact persons in their older years, who have been the focus of much of the study into Hoarding Disorder thus far.”
“Our findings also suggest that Hoarding Disorder should be routinely assessed in individuals with ADHD, as they do not typically disclose associated difficulties, despite these potentially impairing their daily lives.” Similarly, it is probable that many patients who are currently being treated for Hoarding Disorder also have undiagnosed ADHD.”
“Greater awareness amongst clinicians and people with ADHD about the link between ADHD and hoarding could also lead to more effective long-term management, as hoarding often gradually worsens with time.”
