Publication (142 pages).

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF HOARDING
Through this pubication, hoarding is analysised and
broken down through the concept of social construction theory. This theory is
a useful tool to aid in the understanding of hoarding because it highlights the
alternating use of objective and subjective conditions in the definition of a social
problem. This approach encourages an interpretation of a problem that acknowledges
how social actors impact the understanding of the behaviour. In the case of
hoarding, this approach is particularly useful because it allows for several differing
constructions of hoarding as a social problem, each one acknowledging the
different claims and claims-makers that produce an
understanding of the situation as problematic. This approach also allows for the
development of a new construction of hoarding as a social problem, one that utilizes
new claims and a different combination of objective and subjective aspects.
Considering the fact that behaviours of accumulation and lack of discard are
not inherently problematic, how is it that hoarding has come to be understood
as social problem? I believe this is due to reasons of presentation; hoarding
has been framed in certain ways as to promote it as a social problem. Medical
9