Food addiction in behavioral addictions: a network approach.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
• Addiction Research
• Network Analysis in Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Comorbidity of mental disorders is common, yet the overlap between food addiction (FA) and behavioral addictions (BAs) remains understudied.
• Understanding the mechanisms linking FA and BAs is crucial for effective treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the interrelationships between clinical profiles of patients with gaming disorder, compulsive buying-shopping disorder, compulsive sexual behavior disorder, and comorbid FA.
• To identify core symptoms and correlates contributing to the clinical profile of patients with comorbid FA and BAs.
• To determine empirically derived clusters of symptoms based on the presence or absence of FA.

Main Methods:

• Network analysis was employed to examine symptom interrelationships.
• A sample of 209 participants with diagnosed BAs underwent clinical interviews and psychometric assessments for FA, psychopathology, personality, emotion regulation, and impulsivity.
• Separate network models were constructed for participants with and without comorbid FA.

Main Results:

• In patients with FA, self-directedness, global psychopathological distress, age, and harm avoidance emerged as the most central nodes.
• Self-directedness also acted as a key bridging node in the FA-positive group.
• The structure and composition of symptom clusters (communities) differed significantly based on the presence of FA.

Conclusions:

• The clinical profile of individuals with comorbid BAs and FA is more complex than in those without FA.
• This increased complexity associated with comorbid FA may impact disorder progression and treatment outcomes.
• Further research is needed to elucidate the specific mechanisms driving this complexity.