Biomedical subjects

Randy O Frost

Publications and source records attributed to Randy O Frost.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Categorization in compulsive hoarding.

Based on hypothesizing about the role of information processing, and in particular, underinclusive categorization in compulsive hoarding, this study examined categorization processes in people with clinically significant compulsive hoarding problems. Twenty-one participants with primary compulsive hoarding, 21 with OCD without hoarding, and 21 non-psychiatric controls completed three categorization tasks. Hoarding and OCD participants reported significantly more distress prior to each of the three tasks than did controls. On tasks sorting common household items, the groups did not differ on the number of piles created nor on the amount of time taken to sort. However, on a task sorting personally relevant items, hoarding participants took more time, created more piles, and reported more anxiety than non-psychiatric controls. Hoarders also took more time than the OCD group, and tended to create more piles. Hoarding severity was correlated with the number of piles created, but only when the objects were personally relevant. Results support under-inclusive categorizing for people with compulsive hoarding, but the effect was largely confined to objects of personal relevance.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Age of onset of compulsive hoarding.

Although compulsive hoarding appears to be a chronic, progressive disorder, little is known about its onset and course. The current study employed retrospective assessment of 51 individuals with compulsive hoarding difficulties to determine onset of various hoarding symptoms (clutter, acquisition, difficulty discarding), as well as the individual's degree of recognition of the problem at various times throughout his or her life. Participants were asked to describe life events from each decade that occurred at the time hoarding symptoms were developing. Symptoms of clutter and difficulty discarding appeared to begin at approximately the same age, whereas acquiring problems began slightly later. Recognition of the problem developed significantly later than any of the symptoms themselves. A portion of participants reported that their hoarding symptoms were reduced at some point in their lives, but few reported full remission of hoarding at any point. Survival analysis of age of onset of hoarding symptoms indicated that individuals who reported a stressful event when saving behavior started had a significantly later age of onset than those who reported no events at the age of onset. Perhaps for some individuals compulsive hoarding is a lifelong characterological phenomenon, whereas for others hoarding behavior develops later as a reaction to stress or loss.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2005

Not just right experiences and obsessive-compulsive features: experimental and self-monitoring perspectives.

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often report compulsions aimed at reducing feelings of something not being just right or sensations of incompleteness. Research using self-report questionnaires has demonstrated a link between not just right experiences (NJREs) and OCD symptoms (Behav. Res. Therapy 41 (2003) 681; Anxiety, 1 (1995) 208). Extending previous work, this paper presents experimental and self-monitoring data on NJREs in an undergraduate sample. NJREs produced distress and urges to change something, but feared consequences were rare. Stronger responses were found for naturally occurring self-monitored NJREs compared to NJREs elicited in the laboratory. Several significant relationships were found between features of NJREs and OC symptoms and constructs theoretically related to OCD (e.g., responsibility, incompleteness), but no significant relationships were found between features of NJREs and non-OCD-related constructs (worry, depressive symptoms, social anxiety). Further consideration of NJREs will be useful in improving our understanding of the phenomenology, neurobiological substrates, and treatment, of OCD.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Relationships among compulsive hoarding, trauma, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The current study investigated aspects of post-traumatic stress disorder and attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among hoarders. Compared to a sample of 36 controls, hoarders (n=26) reported a significantly greater number of different types of trauma, more frequent traumatic experiences, more symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and greater comfort derived from possessions. These findings are consistent with previous reports of extensive comorbidity associated with hoarding behaviors, and may reflect the potential usefulness of assessing PTSD and ADHD symptoms at the outset of hoarding treatments, as well as considering alternative pharmacological interventions.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2004

Actual and perceived memory deficits in individuals with compulsive hoarding.

Memory problems have been hypothesized to underlie compulsive hoarding behavior [Frost and Hartl, 1996: Behav Res Ther 34:341-350]. This study examined memory performance, memory confidence, and memory beliefs in 22 individuals with severe hoarding symptoms and 24 matched normal control subjects. Participants were administered two measures of learning and memory that required strategic planning and organization for successful performance: the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) and California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). Self-reports of memory confidence, perceived consequences of forgetting, importance of remembering, and need to keep possessions in sight also were assessed. In comparison to controls, participants with compulsive hoarding recalled less information on delayed recall of the RCFT and CVLT and used less effective organizational strategies on the RCFT but not the CVLT. Hoarders also reported significantly less confidence in their memory, more catastrophic assessments of the consequences of forgetting, and a stronger desire to keep possessions in sight. Results provide initial evidence of learning and memory impairment and poor memory confidence in subjects with compulsive hoarding.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Measurement of compulsive hoarding: saving inventory-revised.

Four studies examined a new measure of compulsive hoarding (Saving Inventory-Revised; SI-R). Factor analysis using 139 hoarding participants identified 3 factors: difficulty discarding, excessive clutter, and excessive acquisition. Additional studies were conducted with hoarding participants, OCD participants without hoarding, community controls and an elderly sample exhibiting a range of hoarding behavior. Internal consistencies and test-retest reliabilities were good. The SI-R distinguished hoarding participants from all other non-hoarding comparison groups. The SI-R showed strong correlations with other indices and methods of measuring hoarding (beliefs, activity dysfunction from clutter, observer ratings of clutter in the home) and relatively weaker correlations with non-hoarding measures (positive and negative affect and OCD symptoms). The SI-R appears to be an appropriate instrument for assessing symptoms of compulsive hoarding in clinical and non-clinical samples.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2003

Hoarding behaviors in a large college sample.

Hoarding behaviors occur in many clinical syndromes but are most commonly linked to obsessive compulsive disorder. Surprisingly little empirical work has examined the nature of hoarding behaviors despite their association with significant distress and impairment. The current study examined hoarding in 563 unselected college students. Using principal components analysis, we identified four domains of hoarding behaviors as measured by the 26-item Saving Inventory-Revised: Difficulty Discarding, Acquisition Problems, Clutter, and Interference/Distress. All four domains and total hoarding behaviors were strongly related to hoarding beliefs and to obsessive compulsive (OC) symptoms. Hoarding behaviors were most strongly correlated with subscales of an OC disorder (OCD) measure assessing hoarding and obsessions and least strongly correlated with the washing subscale. Hoarding behaviors also showed significant, but more modest, correlations with social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and worry. However, worry was not found to contribute unique variance to the prediction of hoarding behaviors. Of greatest note, hoarding behaviors showed a surprisingly strong relationship with anxiety sensitivity, similar in magnitude to the relationship between hoarding and OCD symptoms. Results are interpreted and lines of future research are proposed, with particular emphasis on further elucidating the relationship between hoarding behaviors and anxiety sensitivity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

"Not just right experiences": perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive features and general psychopathology.

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) frequently report uncomfortable sensations of things not being just right ("not just right experiences"; NJREs) and a need to ritualize until they quiet these sensations. However, very little work has been conducted to empirically examine the nature and characteristics of this phenomenon. In this paper, we present two studies that systematically examine NJREs in large undergraduate samples. In Study 1, NJREs were shown to be related to both OCD features and maladaptive domains of perfectionism. In Study 2, NJREs were again significantly related to OCD features. Further, NJREs were shown to have particularly strong relationships with specific OCD symptom clusters (e.g., checking, ordering). Finally, NJREs were significantly more strongly correlated with features of OCD than symptoms from other domains of psychopathology (e.g., social anxiety, trait anxiety, worry, depression). General conclusions are drawn, and future directions are discussed.

Anxiety↗