\u201cThere has been a great deal of research that shows a significant association between hoarding and its effect on relationships<\/strong>,\u201d said Valerie Vorstenbosch, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology and a co-investigator of the study. \u201cLess known are the effects that loved ones\u2019 behavioral responses have on individuals\u2019 hoarding symptoms and functional impairment<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n To better understand the links between hoarders and their loved ones, Vorstenbosch and her co-investigator Dr. Martin Antony, Department of Psychology, are conducting a North American study interviewing hoarders and their loved ones. The researchers will investigate the nature of loved ones\u2019 behaviours that may inadvertently encourage a person to hoard and their motivations and attitudes behind their actions. Partners or family members of people who engage in hoarding will also be asked about their satisfaction with their relationships and their general well-being.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re wondering whether loved ones\u2019 accommodating behaviours influence their partners hoarding activities, in turn causing more problems with their relationships and well-being,\u201d said Dr. Antony, who is also chair of the psychology department and Vorstenbosch\u2019s academic supervisor.<\/p>\n According to Dr. Antony, about five per cent of Americans engage in hoarding activities. Although similar statistics are not available for Canada, he notes they are comparable to the U.S. Hoarding also affects people increasingly as they age.<\/p>\n The disorder itself has also caught the attention of mental-health professionals in North America. Originally classified as a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a reference tool widely used by mental-health professionals, will create a separate class for hoarding with its own unique symptoms.<\/p>\n The researchers hope the study will shed more light on the relationship between people with hoarding issues and their family members or partners. By studying this interaction, Dr. Antony and Vorstenbosch also hope to develop ways to improve treatment that would involve both parties.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we do discover that loved ones\u2019 actions do have an effect on people who hoard, it might make sense to include them during the treatment process,\u201d said Dr. Antony.<\/p>\n The researchers expect to report on their findings by next January and publish them in a forthcoming journal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the Ryerson University press release: People collect things all the time: books, newspapers, stamps. But when a casual hobby turns into an incessant need to hoard, it becomes a… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[101,49,12],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1646,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645\/revisions\/1646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/images\/blogpics\/Hoarding.jpg\" "\\"hoarding\\"")
People collect things all the time: books, newspapers, stamps. But when a casual hobby turns into an incessant need to hoard, it becomes a disorder that requires intervention. But how much of hoarders\u2019 behaviours are influenced by their loved ones? Ryerson researchers are investigating these relationships in a new study looking at the link between family members\u2019 behaviours and individuals who hoard<\/strong>.<\/p>\n