Investigation of the relationship between obsessive-compulsive personality traits and intolerance of uncertainty in white-collar workers in the context of digital hoarding

Digital hoarding emerges as a result of individuals experiencing difficulties in accumulating and organizing digital materials, which may lead to psychological distress. This study aims to examine the relationship between digital hoarding behaviours, intolerance of uncertainty, and obsessive-compulsive personality traits among white- collar workers. Survey data collected from 393 participants (235 female, 158 male) were analysed for this purpose. The study employed the Demographic Information Form, Digital File Hoarding Questionnaire, the Obsessive-Compulsive Subscale of the Personality Beliefs Questionnaire, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire-44, and the Deletion Frequency Index. The data were analysed using independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation analysis, and stepwise regression analysis. The analyses revealed that intolerance of uncertainty and obsessive-compulsive personality traits are associated with digital hoarding behaviours. Responsibility-danger expectations, deletion frequency, and inhibitory anxiety were found to predict difficulty in deleting, while deletion frequency, prospective anxiety, and responsibility-danger expectations predicted hoarding behaviours. Digital hoarding, a novel concept for the literature, was discussed in light of the findings.