Hoarding by young people, older adults tackled by 91传媒 researcher
Contact: Mary Pollitz听
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi 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. 听
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, Dozier鈥檚 work on the听鈥溾澨齣n the Journal of American College Health identifies the significance of early intervention in decreasing a young person鈥檚 likelihood of developing hoarding disorder later in life.
鈥淭he project that we conducted was an online survey of 91传媒 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,鈥 Dozier said. 鈥淢y team is using some of the results of this project to provide free group treatment for clutter for 91传媒 undergraduates this spring.鈥
Dozier鈥檚 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 study鈥攆ocused on helping older Mississippians鈥攆unded by the American Psychological Foundation. Her findings from the study 鈥鈥 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, Dozier鈥檚 clinicians elicit increased 鈥渃hange talk鈥 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.
鈥淥ur goal is to keep participants focused on change,鈥 Dozier said. 鈥淲e avoid using the term 鈥榟oarding disorder鈥 with individuals; we use 鈥榗lutter.鈥 Everybody struggles with clutter, and there鈥檚 nothing wrong with that. This is about helping those who want to see a change.鈥
According to Dozier鈥檚 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 participants鈥 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 91传媒 social work field instructor training.
鈥淥ne of the things I鈥檓 always amazed by is what helps,鈥 Dozier said. 鈥淪imple interventions鈥攍ike asking someone to reflect on their values while sorting through items鈥攃an lead to life-changing outcomes.鈥
Dozier鈥檚 long-term goal includes using this positive-based model to create a program family members can use when needed.听
鈥淭here鈥檚 something really powerful about having someone in your home saying it鈥檚 OK. It鈥檚 OK to let go of things. I鈥檓 excited about doing this research because it鈥檚 helping people,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also developing something bigger that鈥檚 going to help more people.鈥
This summer, Dozier鈥檚 research was mentioned by . For more information on Project RECLAIM, contact Dozier at maryedozier@psychology.msstate.edu or 662-325-0523.
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