Which screening question aligns with Hoarding Disorder assessment?

• A. Do you have ongoing difficulty discarding or parting with possessions regardless of value others may attribute to these possessions?
• B. Do you experience panic in crowded places?
• C. Do you have recurring intrusive thoughts about contamination?
• D. Do you have episodes of excessive reassurance seeking about appearance?

Answer: (A)

Hoarding Disorder screening centers on the core symptom of persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value, driven by distress or perceived need to save items. This difficulty leads to clutter that substantially impairs the use of living spaces and daily functioning. The best screening question directly taps into this core feature by asking whether someone struggles to discard possessions despite how others might view their value.

The other options tap into different conditions: panic in crowded places points to agoraphobia or panic disorder; intrusive thoughts about contamination suggest OCD with contamination concerns; and excessive reassurance seeking about appearance relates to body image concerns or social/ited anxiety. None of these reflect the primary feature of hoarding, which is the inability to discard items and the resulting accumulation.