Abstract
Cognitive-behavioral models of compulsive hoarding have identified information processing deficits of categorization and organization, decision-making and indecisiveness, memory, and attention as areas that may contribute to compulsive hoarding symptoms. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether deficits of memory, attention, and indecisiveness found in hoarders are also present in nonclinical hoarders. Participants included 41 nonclinical hoarders (“packrats”) and 50 controls without hoarding symptoms. Participants completed neuropsychological tests of memory, sustained attention, and intelligence as well as a battery of questionnaires assessing various symptoms related to the study hypotheses, including compulsive hoarding, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Nonclinical hoarders reported higher levels of indecisiveness, more concern about memory, more ADHD symptoms, and higher levels of impulsiveness on self-report questionnaires; however, they did not display impairments in memory, sustained attention, or impulsiveness on neuropsychological tests. The current study highlights potential risk factors of perceived cognitive deficits in the development of compulsive hoarding.
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