Relationship among indecisiveness, perfectionism, and hoarding symptoms in individuals with and without hoarding disorder

Cognitive-behavioral approaches to understanding hoarding disorder propose that indecisiveness driven by a fear of making mistakes about discarding may contribute to hoarding psychopathology. The current study examined the relationship between indecisiveness, hoarding, and related constructs in a sample of individuals with hoarding disorder. Forty individuals with hoarding disorder and 36 individuals without hoarding disorder completed questionnaires measuring hoarding symptoms, depression symptoms, indecisiveness, and perfectionism. Results indicated that individuals with versus without hoarding disorder demonstrated significant differences in indecisiveness and some types of perfectionism. This group difference in indecisiveness disappeared when controlling for perfectionism, but not vice versa. Follow-up analyses controlling for OCD symptoms suggest that these main findings may be true only for those with both OCD and hoarding symptomatology. These results suggest that perfectionism may play an important role in the relationship between indecisiveness and hoarding disorder, shedding light on possible mechanisms behind hoarding symptoms, and offering possible treatment targets. • Indecisiveness and hoarding scores were significantly correlated for those with hoarding. • Individuals with hoarding self-reported significantly higher perfectionism and indecisiveness scores compared to individuals without hoarding. • The group difference in indecisiveness disappeared when controlling for perfectionism. • The group difference in perfectionism did not disappear when controlling for indecisiveness.