If you are the kind of person who fills the attic, the basement and the garage with clutter, you may be able to blame your compulsive hoarding on your ancestors. At least that’s the conclusion of a large twin study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The investigation involved both fraternal and identical twins, which allowed the researchers to separate environmental factors from genetic influence. Fraternal twins do not share exactly the same DNA the way identical twins do. When one female identical twin demonstrated compulsive hoarding behavior, more than half the time her twin shared similar symptoms. Such was not the case with fraternal twins, suggesting that nature trumps nurture when it comes to hoarding.
[American Journal of Psychiatry, October 2009]
