Some individuals have a love for shopping, buying for many different purposes, and staying there for long years in their homes, and they take up many space in the place where they live (Yamada, et al., 2018) a desire to love possession, and these things are linked to emotional aspects, and if they are directed by others to get rid of them (Himle, et al., 2006; Saxena & Maidment, 2004); they are worthless, and cause distress and tension for all who refuse to respond to them; believing that they will bind them later (David, Frost, & Steketee, 2007). They do not realize that they are suffering from a disorder, and this disorder exists in the high school community, but it is not taken into consideration due to a lack of awareness of it and consequently the inability to diagnose it (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Fusco, 2021).
Most studies have attributed the cause of OCD in adolescence to the beginning of physical and sexual changes and therefore the accompaniment of a feeling of personal hygiene (Abdel-Khaleq, 2002; Aldahadha, 2018a). OCD is one of the anxiety disorders, with which it shares symptoms. A small degree of anxiety increases alertness, attention and improvement in the performance of the individual, but if the anxiety exceeds a certain limit, the performance of the individual will decrease and thus hinder achievement, and his or her interest becomes only obsessive thoughts, rituals and practices (Saxena & Sumner, 2014; Frost, et al., 2000).
OCD is characterized by extremely repetitive ideas and behaviors that interfere in daily life, and this disorder gives rise to anomalous situations in which the individual focuses on an idea, risk, or impulsive image that is often ridiculous and trivial but imposes itself on him or her and continues to be reconsidered by the individual in these cases (Abramowitz et al., 2003; Faure & Forbes, 2021).
Ownership love appears in individuals in childhood; it is an innate tendency that can be stripped from any benefit or purpose, and it can be illogical and exaggerated, causing individuals to perform strange behaviors. This stage is called CHD, and it was classified in the DSM 5 among the areas of OCD (Steketee et al., 2003; Tolin & Gilliam, 2010).
CHD is no less important than other mental disorders in terms of its prevalence and the problems it causes; its prevalence in the United States is estimated at 1–2%, (i.e., ranging between 3 and 6 million American people), and it affects 129 million people worldwide, impacting the psychological, family, social and health lives of individuals (Storch et al., 2007).
CHD is defined as "excessive accumulation, collection of holdings, and the great difficulty in deciding to dispose of unnecessary personal property, due to the ongoing feeling of the need to use these objects later" (Gilliam & Tolin, 2010. 14). Among the age groups that have CHD are high school students because in this stage there arises difficulties in decision making, health and psychological problems, lack of organization, the inability to set goals, low self-confidence, lack of time organization, and difficulty in solving problems (Fenske & Schwenk, 2009; Rimawi, 2003).
The thought stopping method is considered one of the therapeutic methods for addressing obsessive thoughts, and it has a role in stopping them (Hollon & DiGiuseppe, 2011). It includes focusing on an unwanted, annoying or painful idea for a short period of time and then suddenly stopping it and emptying the mind of it (Saxena, 2008; Saxena, 2007). It is used in launching the firm command to stop or snapping a rubber band around the wrist to cause pain, an old technique developed to treat obsessive and fear-provoking ideas, and it has proved effective with a long list of obsessive and fear-provoking ideas (i.e., preoccupations about health, disturbing or painful thoughts or fears) (Aldahadha, 2018b; Beck, 2000).
High school students with hoarding disorder do not realize the seriousness of the problems caused by the symptoms of this disorder, and treatment cannot begin to address the symptoms of hoarding until the student has conscious insight (Aldahadh, 2020; Sadiq & Marwa, 2013). Since it is punitive it thus reduces the likelihood of an idea recurring, and the command's to stop distracts attention, which is incompatible with the unwanted idea (Suñol, et al., 2020). Following the command stands as an alternative idea to help ensure that unwanted thoughts do not return (Frost et al., 2004; Grisham & Barlow, 2005).
Several studies have been conducted related to the subject of the current study. Frost et al. (2008) found that more than 95% of respondents complained of excessive hoarding. Sadiq and Marwa (2013) conducted a study entitled “The effect of stopping thoughts in reducing sleep disturbance” among a group of students from Diyala University. The results favored the treatment group.
Wilson and Chambless (2005) conducted a study entitled "The effectiveness of the behavioral cognitive program with OCD”, aiming to determine the extent of the program's impact on OCD patients. The study showed the effectiveness of the applied program in reducing OCD regarding obsessive thoughts about hygiene, closing doors, and disease. As a result of the repetition of compulsive behaviors and the impact of repeated compulsive thinking, CHD has become part of the lives of many high school students and has an impact on important decision making, goal setting, problem solving, social interaction and academic achievement. Some studies have also indicated the existence of this problem (Rachman, 2002; Storch, et al., 2007), aiming to determine the prevalence of CHD and to reveal the relationship between it and OCD in some demographic variables, with one study finding that the prevalence 41.5% among sample members was 15.5%.
Through follow-up with the counseling records at the schools, the counselor’s advice, and the notes of the female students’ parents, cases of isolation emerged due to excessive collection and storage of things, including school books over many years, games since childhood, magazines containing pictures of actors, and school files. The students had difficulty discarding things despite their being useless, leading to the emergence of chaos, disorganization, and feelings of distress and anxiety; and the cases are repeated in different situations that indicate them. Accordingly, the problem of this study was to build and test the effectiveness of a counseling program in stopping compulsive thoughts among high school students who suffer from CHD. Hence, the study sought to answer the following questions:
1-Are there statistically significant differences between the means on the posttest for OCD scales and CHD measurements among female secondary school students attributable to treatment?
2- Are there statistically significant differences between the means on the follow-up test of the OCD scales and the CHD measurements attributable to treatment?
This study attempts to add a new benefit to studies conducted among Arabs with both OCD and CHD since it attempts to test the effectiveness of a counseling program based on thought stopping in reducing the disorders of OCD and CHD within a sample of high school students in Southern Mazar Brigade schools. This study is the first at the local level to study these variables. It could even be used as a frame of reference or an introduction to upcoming research and studies that the researcher hopes will address other problems for professionals.
The practical importance of this study is that it provides a counseling program based on thought stopping to stop both OCD and CHD among high school students and opens the way for other researchers in the future to research this topic and study it from other aspects. It could open new horizons for studies and topics that approximate perspectives and support scientific research, in addition to providing a theoretical and conceptual framework of concepts, data, information, and instructional methods and providing counselors with a counseling program from which they can benefit in treating similar cases. The current study aims to reveal the effectiveness of a counseling program based on thought stopping in both OCD and CHD in female high school students.