HOARDING AND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE SYMPTOMS

The present study attempts to extend recent research on the relation b etween hoarding and obsessive-compulsive experiences. In both college student and community samples, hoarding was associated with higher sco res on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS). The relation ship was stronger among the community sample, in which there was a gre ater range of compulsive symptoms and hoarding behavior. Hoarding was also associated with higher levels of general psychopathology as measu red by the Brief Symptom Inventory but not by the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder subscale from the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inv entory-II or by a measure of ordinary risk taking. Among a sample of p atients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 31% reported hoardin g obsessions and 26% reported hoarding compulsions on the YBOCS sympto m checklist. These frequencies are similar to those found elsewhere an d suggest that, although not as frequent as the classical symptoms of OCD, hoarding is a common symptom among OCD patients.