Publication (142 pages).

The medicaliaza
tion of hoarding
behaviour has taken
a long period
of definiton to
become legitimated
withing
the medical
sphere.
lems, and propose an alternative
frame for considering hoarding
behaviour. A medical construction
of hoarding behaviour is
the construction of subjective
claims about the behaviour; it
does not refer specifically to
the objective conditions of the
behaviour, only the subjective
reactions. While a medical approach
recognizes accumulation
and the inability to discard as an
aspect of hoarding, it also claims
ideas of harm and the acquisition
of worthless items as indicative
of the behaviour, which
may or may not be accurate.
While a medical approach may
be informative in some aspects,
its subjective claims may limit
an understanding of the objective
conditions.
This is why it
is important
to consider the
multiple constructions
of a
social problem
that may be
available.
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