Doctorate in Clinical Psychology: Main Research Portfolio

: 1) A Systematic Review of Beliefs, Meanings and Motivations in Acquisition of Possessions in Hoarding Disorder; 2) Evaluating the Revised Anorexia Nervosa Care Pathway for Young People Receiving Inpatient Care at an Adolescent Unit ; 3)The role of intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance in Hoarding Disorder compared to OCD and healthy controls.

Abstract

It is suggested that the different psychological vulnerability factors ofintolerance of uncertainty (IU), anxiety sensitivity (AS) and distress tolerance (DT)feature in Hoarding Disorder (HD). However, the extent that these factors feature in HDcompared to other anxiety disorders remains unclear. The current study thereforeinvestigated differences in IU, AS and DT in HD compared to Obsessive CompulsiveDisorder (OCD) and healthy controls (HCs). 188 participants (HD, n = 66; OCD, n =59; HC, n = 63) completed an online battery of standardised self-report questionnaires to assess IU, AS and DT. A MANOVA analysis indicated that there were statistically significant differences in IU, AS and DT between the clinical groups and HCs. Follow up analyses showed there were no statistically significant differences between the HD and OCD group for any of the three constructs. The results remained the same when controlling for the co-morbid effect of HD and OCD within the relevant clinical group. The results found no specific relationship between IU, AS or DT in HD. The differences between the clinical and non-clinical groups is consistent with existing research that implicates IU, AS, DT as being transdiagnostic constructs across anxiety disorders. The clinical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.

Date of Award	16 Sept 2019
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	James Gregory (Supervisor), Anna Strudwick (Supervisor), Claire Lomax (Supervisor) & Kate Willcocks (Supervisor)