A young male caregiver sitting with two elderly people, smiling and engaged in conversation while holding a clipboard.

Hoarding: The Reality Behind the Reality Shows

  • by Brady Oppenheim

Quick Summary

  • Adult Protective Services professionals are on the front lines of serving and supporting older or dependent adults experiencing HD. However, everyone can help by learning more about hoarding disorder, increasing awareness of how real people are affected.

The issue of hoarding has been sensationalized on screen, but there’s much more to this serious condition than what the cameras show. 

What Is Hoarding?

Hoarding disorder (HD) is a complex, chronic and progressive condition that leads people to accumulate more objects than their homes can accommodate. In addition to creating cluttered or unsafe living environments, HD’s consequences include numerous personal impacts like isolation, stigmatization and depression, as well as health, financial and legal issues. 

And HD doesn’t just mean homes anymore: More recently recognized digital hoarding has many of the same quality-of-life impacts as more traditional HD, but involves electronic instead of physical materials.

HD and Older Adults

While HD affects millions of Americans, it disproportionately affects older adults. According to a major 2024 report by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging:

  • While roughly 2% of the general U.S. population (approximately 7 million people) is currently experiencing a hoarding disorder, estimated rates are over 6% for older adults.
  • Many older adults no longer have the social connections that may have once kept hoarding behaviors in check.
  • Hoarding behaviors typically emerge before the age of 20, but the severity of HD symptoms often increase with each decade of life.
  • Older adults faced with HD-related eviction often wait to seek help until there are few options but a rapid cleanout.
  • The proportion of Americans who are age 65 or older is expected to increase from 16% of the total population in 2019 to nearly 25% in 2060; therefore, if HD disproportionately impacts older adults, hoarding behavior nationwide is expected to increase as well.

Learn More About Hoarding Disorder

Adult Protective Services (APS) professionals are on the front lines of serving and supporting older or dependent adults experiencing HD. However, everyone can help by learning more about hoarding disorder, increasing awareness of how real people are affected by this real issue. Here are some helpful resources for both APS professionals and others:

Our Commitment to Strengthening Services and Supports

UC Davis Human Services is committed to empowering California’s Adult Protective Services (APS) professionals through targeted training and support. Our programs strengthen the workforce, support continuous quality improvement and equip APS teams to meet the complex needs of elders and dependent adults. Learn more about this area of training.
 

Primary Category

Adult Protective Services