The impact of coronavirus on individuals with problematic hoarding behaviours.

We aimed at investigating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on individuals with problematic hoarding behaviors. One hundred seventeen subjects with hoarding problems responded to the Coronavirus Stressful and Traumatic Rating Scale (COROTRAS), an instrument that quantified the number of coronavirus-related events, whether they were experienced as stressful, and the range of emotions resulting from them. The research subjects also answered self-report tools to evaluate the severity of hoarding, hoarding beliefs/motivations, social support, self-efficacy, internalized stigma, and other psychopathological symptoms. The number of stressful coronavirus-related events was predicted by lower age at onset of hoarding, decreased social support, greater severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and lower intensity of concerns over memory as drivers of hoarding. Two emotional states experienced in the aftermath of trauma, namely greater helplessness and lower sadness, and higher depression, anxiety and distress, predicted greater severity of hoarding. In conclusion, we were able to find significant associations between hoarding disorder phenotypes and covid-19 related stressful events.

Traumatic and stressful life events in hoarding: the role of loss and deprivation.

Background: Although past research shows hoarding to be associated with stressful life events involving loss and/or deprivation, the temporal relationship between the onset of symptoms and these events is not completely clear. Objectives: In a cross-sectional online study, we examined the relationship between the number of events involving loss or deprivation before/simultaneously vs. after the onset of hoarding and various hoarding-related beliefs, such as emotional attachment to possessions, and symptom severity. Further, we examined whether perceived social support moderated the influence of these events on emotional attachment to objects. Methods: One hundred seventeen subjects with hoarding problems responded to a series of instruments to assess the history and timing of traumatic and stressful loss and/or deprivation in relation to the onset of hoarding, and self-report tools evaluating the severity of hoarding, beliefs/motivations, depression, anxiety, general distress, and perceived social support. Results: The number of events involving loss or deprivation occurring before hoarding was related to increased emotional attachment to possessions, whereas events happening after the onset of hoarding were related to increased concerns about memory as drivers of hoarding symptoms. Events happening before hoarding did not interact with perceived social support to influence emotional attachment to objects. Conclusions: The timing of traumatic and stressful life events related to loss and deprivation is associated with different hoarding phenotypes, including beliefs/motivations for hoarding. If confirmed by longitudinal studies, these findings may be relevant for therapeutic and preventive measures.

Antecedentes: Aunque investigaciones pasadas han mostrado que la acumulación se asocia con eventos vitales estresantes que incluyen pérdidas y/o deprivación, la relación temporal entre el inicio de los síntomas y estos eventos no están completamente claras.Objetivo: En un estudio transversal realizado online, examinamos la relación entre el número de eventos que incluían perdida o deprivación en forma previa/simultánea versus posterior al inicio de la acumulación y variadas creencias relacionadas con la acumulación, tales como el apego emocional a las posesiones y la severidad sintomática. Además, examinamos si es que el apoyo social percibido moderaba la influencia de estos eventos en el apego emocional a los objetos.Métodos: Ciento diecisiete sujetos con problemas de acumulación respondieron a una serie de instrumentos para evaluar la historia y temporalidad de eventos traumáticos y estresantes de pérdida y/o deprivación en relación al inicio de la acumulación, y herramientas de auto-reporte que evaluaban la severidad de la acumulación, motivaciones/creencias, depresión, ansiedad, malestar general, y apoyo social percibido.Resultados: El número de eventos que incluían pérdida o deprivación que ocurrieron antes de la acumulación fueron relacionados con un aumento del apego emocional a las posesiones, mientras que los eventos que ocurrieron posteriores al inicio de la acumulación se relacionaron con una mayor preocupación sobre la memoria como potenciador de los síntomas de acumulación. Los eventos que ocurrieron antes de la acumulación no interactuaron con el apoyo social percibido para influir en el apego emocional a los objetos.Conclusiones: La temporalidad de los eventos vitales traumáticos y estresantes relacionados con la pérdida y la deprivación está asociada con diferentes fenotipos de acumulación, incluyendo las motivaciones/creencias por las cuales se acumula. Si estos hallazgos son confirmados por estudios longitudinales, pueden ser relevantes para medidas terapéuticas y de prevención.

Predicting marriage and divorce in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Single (N = 472, 51.7%), married or living in stable cohabitation (N = 375, 41.1%) and divorced or separated (N = 66, 7.2%) patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were compared in terms of their sociodemographic features, OCD phenotypes, and comorbidity profile. Using single status as a reference group, a multinominal regression analysis found increased age, lower severity of hoarding, increased rates of panic disorder without agoraphobia, and lower rates of dysthymic disorder to be associated with married or stable cohabitation status. Concomitantly, increased age, higher severity of symmetry symptoms, and increased rates of skin picking disorder were found to be associated with divorced status. These findings suggest that there is a relationship between marital status and different OCD phenotypes.