Clinical characteristics and predictors of hoarding in children with anxiety disorders

Rebecca J Hamblin; Adam B Lewin; Alison Salloum; Erika A Crawford; Nicole M McBride; Eric A Storch

doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.07.006

Clinical characteristics and predictors of hoarding in children with anxiety disorders

J Anxiety Disord. 2015 Dec:36:9-14. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.07.006. Epub 2015 Aug 24.

Authors

Rebecca J Hamblin¹, Adam B Lewin², Alison Salloum³, Erika A Crawford⁴, Nicole M McBride⁵, Eric A Storch⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida, USA; Rogers Behavioral Health-Tampa Bay, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida, USA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences, University of South Florida, USA; Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences, University of South Florida, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Temple University, USA.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida, USA.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida, USA; Rogers Behavioral Health-Tampa Bay, USA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences, University of South Florida, USA; Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, USA; Department of Health Policy and Management, University of South Florida, USA; All Children's Hospital-Johns Hopkins Medicine, Department of Social Work, University of South Florida, USA.

PMID: 26407051
DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.07.006

Abstract

Objective: This investigation was conducted to describe the clinical of characteristics of anxious children with significant hoarding behavior and to examine the contributions of anxiety, obsessive compulsive, and inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms in the prediction of hoarding.

Method: One hundred nine children seeking treatment for an anxiety disorder and their parents completed clinician-administered and parent-report measures of emotional and behavioral symptoms, functional impairment, and hoarding symptoms.

Results: Elevated levels of hoarding were reported for 22% of the sample. Children with elevated hoarding scored significantly higher on measures of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, attention, social, and thought problems, rule-breaking, aggression, and overall functional impairment and had higher rates of major depressive disorder than children without hoarding. Attention problems predicted hoarding symptomology over-and-above the contributions of either anxiety or obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Conclusions: Findings suggest a pattern of behavioral and emotional dysregulation for children who hoard and provide further insight into the relationships between anxiety, attention problems, and hoarding.

Keywords: Child anxiety; Hoarding.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Anxiety Disorders / psychology
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / psychology
Child
Compulsive Behavior / psychology
Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology
Female
Hoarding Disorder / diagnosis*
Humans
Male
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / psychology
Parents / psychology

Grants and funding

1R18HS018665-01A1/HS/AHRQ HHS/United States