Received: 27 March 2018 | Accepted: 4 September 2018 DOI: 10.1002/jclp.22715 RESEARCH ARTICLE A qualitative analysis of emotion and emotion regulation in hoarding disorder Jasmine K. Taylor 1 | Stephen Theiler 1 | Maja Nedeljkovic 1 | Richard Moulding 2 1 School of Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology; Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia 2 School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong; Deakin University Centre for Drug Use, Addictive and Anti-Social Behaviour Research (CEDAAR), Geelong, Victoria, Australia Correspondence Richard Moulding, School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia. Email: Richard.moulding@deakin.edu.au Abstract Objective: The role of emotion regulation (ER) has been receiving increased attention in relation to various forms of psychopathology including hoarding disorder (HD). How- ever, questionnaire designs are limited to finding associa- tions of ER with symptoms or symptom groups, without finding out how such constructs might be involved in the disorder. Methods: This study was a qualitative investigation of ER in a clinical HD sample (N = 11). Results: Prominent themes provided support for ER difficul- ties in hoarding. In particular, difficulties with identifying and describing feelings, unhelpful attitudes toward the emotional experience, the use of avoidance‐based strategies, and a perceived lack of effective ER strategies were prominent themes. Furthermore, emotional factors were identified as being associated with the onset and/or exacerbation of hoarding behavior, and possessions and acquiring behavior appeared to serve an ER function. Conclusion: The current paper provides a nuanced account of the role of ER in hoarding difficulties. KEYWORDS alexithymia, emotion regulation, emotional dysregulation, experi- ential avoidance, hoarding disorder J. Clin. Psychol. 2018;1–26. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jclp © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. | 1