Saxena et al reported a severity scale for compulsive hoarding. The authors are from UCLA, VA San Diego Healthcare System and University of Florida.
Patient selection: compulsive hoarding
Items:
(1) amount of clutter in the home
(2) embarrassment if someone saw the clutter
(3) problems caused by excessive buying or acquiring things
(4) urge to keep things that others might not
(5) amount of anxiety when discarding something that might be wanted or needed in the future
(6) extent that clutter affects relationships and ability to socialize
(7) extent that clutter affects work, daily functioning and/or hobbies
(8) routine tasks take longer than they should to complete, due to clutter or perfectionism
(9) trouble making decisions
(10) procrastination doing tasks
where:
• Clutter: items that should not be in an areaa or that prevent those areas from being used as intended.
|
Response
|
Points
|
|
not at all
|
0
|
|
mild
|
1
|
|
moderate
|
2
|
|
severe
|
3
|
|
extreme
|
4
|
total score =
= SUM(points for all of the parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 40
• The higher the score the more severe the hoarding behavior.
