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Background/Objectives: Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in young individuals with eating disorders (EDs) and are associated with increased psychopathology and poorer clinical outcomes. However, sleep alterations in ED populations are heterogeneous and may reflect distinct underlying clinical profiles. The study aimed to identify sleep quality profiles and examine their clinical correlates in youth with EDs. Methods: A total of 288 youth outpatients with EDs completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), along with measures of eating and general psychopathology. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was conducted using PSQI scores to identify distinct sleep profiles. Multinomial logistic regression models were performed to assess clinical variables of profile membership. Results: A four-profile solution was identified: (1) less impaired sleepers, (2) medication-using sleepers, (3) global poor sleepers, and (4) sleep-initiation-difficulty sleepers. Profiles differed significantly in ED severity, affective symptoms, emotion regulation difficulties, and sleep-related eating behaviors. Profiles characterized by greater sleep impairment exhibited higher levels of binge eating, night eating, and psychological distress. Multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that night eating was the largest contributor to latent profile membership across all comparisons, significantly increasing the likelihood of belonging to more impaired sleep profiles. Conclusions: Sleep in individuals with EDs is characterized by distinct and clinically meaningful profiles rather than a uniform pattern of impairment. These findings support the clinical utility of person-centered approaches to better characterize sleep disturbances in ED populations.

Background The construct of Food Addiction (FA) has generated growing interest in the context of Anorexia Nervosa (AN), especially for its potential clinical implications. While AN is traditionally associated with restrictive eating patterns, recent findings suggest that FA symptoms may also be present in this population, complicating the clinical picture. This study aimed to explore FA symptomatology in individuals with AN using a person-centered approach and to identify psychological variables associated with different FA profiles. Methods A sample of 202 individuals with a diagnosis of AN (including AN-R, AN-BP, and Atypical AN) completed the YFAS 2.0. A Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was performed to identify subgroups based on FA symptoms. Chi-square tests assessed associations between latent classes and AN subtypes. Binary logistic regressions explored psychological predictors of class membership, including eating psychopathology (EDE-Q), depressive symptoms (BDI-II), emotion dysregulation (DERS), and metacognitive abilities (MSAS). Results LCA identified three latent classes: Class 1 (Addicted, 11.4%), characterized by high endorsement of FA symptoms; Class 2 (High-Risk, 33.7%), displaying moderate FA symptom severity; and Class 3 (Non-Addicted, 54.9%), showing minimal FA symptomatology. No significant association emerged between class membership and AN diagnostic subtype (χ²(4) = 3.085, p =.544). Logistic regressions revealed that impulsivity significantly predicted membership in the Addicted class (OR = 4.119, p <.05), while membership in the Non-Addicted class was associated with lower eating psychopathology, better metacognitive skills, and reduced impulsivity. Belonging to the High-Risk class was predicted by higher eating concern (OR = 2.618, p <.05), lower metacognition (OR=0.566, p <.05) and greater difficulties with emotional awareness (OR = 1.62; p <.01). Conclusions These findings highlight the presence of distinct FA profiles within AN, independent of traditional diagnostic categories. The Addicted and High-Risk classes showed greater psychopathology and dysregulation. Notably, the High-Risk group also exhibited impaired metacognition, suggesting potential vulnerability despite moderate symptom expression. In contrast, the Non-Addicted class showed a more adaptive profile. LCA may support the development of personalized treatment strategies by targeting FA-related features, including interventions to improve emotion regulation and metacognitive functioning. Plain English summary This study explored whether people with anorexia nervosa (AN) can also show signs of “food addiction,” a pattern of feeling driven to eat in an addictive way—such as craving food, feeling out of control, or experiencing distress about eating. Although AN is usually thought of as a disorder of food restriction, recent evidence shows that some people with AN may still struggle with thoughts and behaviours similar to addiction. We studied over 200 people with different types of AN and found three groups. One group clearly showed food addiction, another group showed some warning signs (“high-risk”), and the third group did not show signs of food addiction. These groups were not linked to a specific AN subtype, meaning that addictive-like eating thoughts can appear in any form of AN, even when there is no obvious binge eating. People in the food-addicted or high-risk groups had more severe eating disorder symptoms, more difficulties managing their emotions, and more problems with recognising their own and others’ thoughts and feelings (a skill called metacognition). Our findings suggest that helping people with AN strengthen these emotional and thinking skills may reduce the risk of food addiction and support recovery.

Background: Altered eating behaviors (AEBs) are not only associated with eating disorders but also play a role in obesity. This study assessed AEBs in individuals with obesity and their association with general and eating psychopathology, using the “Eating Behaviors Assessment for Obesity” (EBA-O). The hypothesis posited that a higher frequency of pathological eating behaviors would correlate with more severe psychopathology. Methods: Participants seeking weight loss treatment answered the EBA-O and other measures of eating and general psychopathology. The analysis employed MANOVA to estimate psychopathological variance based on AEBs and a cluster analysis to identify patient clusters by AEB type and number. Results: Out of the 244 participants, approximately two-thirds reported clinically relevant AEBs, with almost half exhibiting more than two AEBs. Predominant AEBs included sweet eating, binge eating, and hyperphagia. A significant impact of the numbers of AEBs on both eating and general psychopathology severity (p < 0.001; η2 = 0.167) was evident. Three clusters emerged, with Cluster 3 showing the highest AEB frequency and greater psychopathological impairment. Conclusions: The present findings confirm the correlation between the frequency of AEBs and the severity of general and eating psychopathology in individuals with obesity. AEBs deserve clinical attention, and their screening might aid their clinical characterization and foster more tailored treatments.

Background: A paediatric cancer diagnosis is a profound stressor for the entire family system. Although coping strategies are well-studied, their link to the quality of the parent–child attachment relationship remains less explored. In this study, we investigated whether dyadic attachment dynamics—specifically closeness and conflict between parent and child—are associated with the use of adaptive or maladaptive coping strategies in caregivers of children undergoing active treatment for oncohaematological diseases. Methods: We conducted a multicentre, cross-sectional study across three Italian paediatric oncohaematology centres. A total of 165 caregivers of 91 paediatric patients aged 3–17 years completed self-report measures assessing parent–child relationship quality (Child–Parent Relationship Scale-CPRS), coping strategies (COPE-NVI), perceived social support (MSPSS), and resilience (RS-14). We tested whether the quality of the parent–child attachment relationship is associated with caregivers’ coping strategies. We hypothesised that Attachment Closeness would be associated with adaptive coping (Positive Attitude, Social Support, Problem Orientation), whereas Attachment Conflict would be associated with maladaptive coping (Avoidance). We conducted multiple linear regression models, adjusted for key covariates and with robust standard errors clustered at the family level, to test these hypotheses. Results: Higher levels of emotional closeness (CPRS) were significantly associated with greater use of adaptive coping strategies, specifically Positive Attitude (β = 0.20, p = 0.049) and Problem Orientation (β = 0.26, p = 0.002), even after controlling for sociodemographic factors, social support, and resilience. Conversely, higher levels of relational conflict were significantly associated with greater use of the maladaptive Avoidance strategy (β = 0.14, p = 0.015). The hypothesis linking closeness to Social Support seeking was not supported. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the parent–child attachment relationship is a significant correlate of caregiver coping strategies in caregivers of children with cancer. Interventions aimed at supporting the caregiver–child dyad by fostering emotional closeness and reducing conflict may promote more adaptive parental coping mechanisms, thereby enhancing family resilience and psychological adjustment throughout the treatment journey.