Hoarding by young people, older adults tackled by Ļć½¶Ö±²„researcher
Contact: Mary PollitzĢż
STARKVILLE, Miss.āMississippi State Assistant Professor Mary E. Dozier is helping Mississippians reduce clutter, decrease anxiety and enhance their quality of life through subtle and positive intervention methods. Ģż
Dozier, a faculty member in the Department of Psychology, started researching hoarding disorder in older adults but has since expanded to the college-age demographic. After speaking with a New Orleans, Louisiana-based clinical psychologist, Dozier started to investigate the effects of growing up in a home with excessive clutter.
Published this fall, Dozierās work on theĢżāāĢżin the Journal of American College Health identifies the significance of early intervention in decreasing a young personās likelihood of developing hoarding disorder later in life.
āThe project that we conducted was an online survey of Ļć½¶Ö±²„undergraduate students about the associations between hoarding in their childhood homes and their current functioning, as well as their interest in different potential interventions for clutter,ā Dozier said. āMy team is using some of the results of this project to provide free group treatment for clutter for Ļć½¶Ö±²„undergraduates this spring.ā
Dozierās team will use a variety of cognitive-behavioral methods to help college-age students declutter, including some of the motivational interviewing techniques used in her 2021 pilot studyāfocused on helping older Mississippiansāfunded by the American Psychological Foundation. Her findings from the study āā were published this summer in Aging & Mental Health, an international journal. She is currently conducting a longer version of this project, which she calls Project RECLAIM (Reduce Clutter and Increase Meaning) with funding from the National Institute of Mental Health.
Project RECLAIM elicits change from a value-based, patient-centered approach. Rather than focusing on the negative effects clutter has, Dozierās clinicians elicit increased āchange talkā by highlighting the positive outcomes that can happen with decluttering. For example, a discussion with participants on how cleaning up clutter could lead to more family member visits may have a stronger impact than pointing out how that same clutter prevents family from visiting.
āOur goal is to keep participants focused on change,ā Dozier said. āWe avoid using the term āhoarding disorderā with individuals; we use āclutter.ā Everybody struggles with clutter, and thereās nothing wrong with that. This is about helping those who want to see a change.ā
According to Dozierās pilot study, older participants decreased their clutter by 20% and reported improved mental health and a healthier relationship with their belongings. After working with 40 clients, Dozier concluded this focus on positive affect treatment has made drastic changes in her participantsā lives.
Following the success of her pilot study, Dozier has been in demand to provide trainings for the RECLAIM intervention. She recently gave invited talks and trainings for the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (a national group of professional organizers), the Nebraska Mental Health and Aging Coalition, and locally for the Ļć½¶Ö±²„social work field instructor training.
āOne of the things Iām always amazed by is what helps,ā Dozier said. āSimple interventionsālike asking someone to reflect on their values while sorting through itemsācan lead to life-changing outcomes.ā
Dozierās long-term goal includes using this positive-based model to create a program family members can use when needed.Ģż
āThereās something really powerful about having someone in your home saying itās OK. Itās OK to let go of things. Iām excited about doing this research because itās helping people,ā she said. āItās also developing something bigger thatās going to help more people.ā
This summer, Dozierās research was mentioned by . For more information on Project RECLAIM, contact Dozier at maryedozier@psychology.msstate.edu or 662-325-0523.
Ļć½¶Ö±²„ is taking care of what matters. Learn more atĢż.