The link between problematic usage of the internet (PUI) and eating disorder symptoms is well-established. However, less is known about this association in the context of orthorexia nervosa (ON), an excessive preoccupation with healthy eating. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between PUI, including various problematic online behaviors, and ON tendency in a sample of US adults.

Three hundred adults completed an online survey via prolific (mean age = 37.40, 54.6% female). The survey included demographic questions, the ORTO-R to measure ON symptoms, and the Internet Severity and Activities Addiction Questionnaire (ISAAQ-10) to assess PUI and the extent of engagement in several online activities, such as gaming, shopping, social networking, cyberchondria, pornography, and cyberbullying.

Women had higher ORTO-R scores than men (p < .05). ISAAQ-10 scores predicted ORTO-R scores in a regression model (β = .375, p < .001) even after controlling for age, gender, and an eating disorder diagnosis. ON risk was associated with a high engagement in cyberchondria, researching healthy food choices on the internet, cyberbullying perpetration, and online shopping.

Results indicate that PUI is associated with ON symptoms even after considering other predictors. Maladaptive use of nutrition and medical-related resources may play a significant role in this association. However, it remains unclear whether exposure to this content increases ON risk or if people with ON symptoms seek this information online. The directionality of this relationship is an important area for future research.

While increasing research is reporting a higher presence of autistic traits (AT) in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and BPD have been associated in literature with a vulnerability to trauma and eating disorders.

The present study aimed at evaluating trauma-related symptoms and eating disorder symptoms in BPD patients with or without significant AT.

A sample of 73 BPD patients was assessed with the adult autism subthreshold (AdAS) Spectrum, trauma and loss spectrum-self report (TALS-SR), and EDI-2 questionnaires.

The findings revealed that BPD patients with autistic traits (BPD-AT) scored significantly higher on the eating disorder inventory (EDI-2) and trauma and loss scale (TALS-SR) compared to those without AT. Moreover, while both AdAS Spectrum and TALS-SR scores predicted higher EDI-2 scores, a significant mediating effect of TALS-SR on the relationship between AdAS Spectrum and EDI-2 scores was reported.

These results suggest that AT may imply more severe clinical correlates in the BPD population, including an enhanced vulnerability toward psychopathological traits frequently reported in BPD patients such as eating disorders and trauma-related symptoms, stressing the need to clarify the complex interactions among these disorders and the factors that may shape specific illness trajectories.

We aimed to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education and professional development, working conditions, and wellbeing of early career psychiatrists (ECPs) in Europe, as well as their attitudes to telepsychiatry.

A questionnaire comprising 24 items was designed by the Early Career Psychiatrists Committee of the European Psychiatric Association. Data were collected online from June 2020 to September 2021. A series of multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine variables that could predict the dependent variables.

Data were obtained from 517 early career psychiatrists from 39 different countries. Men were more confident than women in their knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms and management, including in managing patients with a comorbidity of COVID-19 and a mental disorder. Providing specific recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic, access to additional educational activities for ECPs, following COVID-19-related recommendations and access to protective equipment were the significant predictors of a higher confidence in managing patients with comorbidity of COVID-19 and mental disorders. The obligation to change the place of work predicted a decreased satisfaction with telepsychiatry as well as a decreased willingness to use telepsychiatry after the COVID-19 pandemic, while a diagnosis of COVID-19, having recommendations for telepsychiatry and access to dedicated platform for telemedicine were predictors of an increased satisfaction with telepsychiatry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected ECPs in Europe to varying degrees. The results point to areas where decision-makers can improve the working conditions for ECPs.

Skin picking disorder is characterized by repetitive excoriation of one’s skin. Although skin picking disorder is associated with substance use problems, no previous research has examined the associations of alcohol use on skin picking symptomatology.

Adults with skin picking disorder (n = 182) were recruited from the general community via an online survey. Participants completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to measure alcohol use and various self-report measures to assess clinical profiles and associated characteristics. We compared variables of interest between those with hazardous alcohol use in the past year (AUDIT ≥8) compared to those with low-risk or no alcohol use in the past year. We also examined the extent to which skin picking disorder symptoms were dimensionally related to AUDIT scores while controlling for confounders.

Of the 182 adults with skin picking disorder, 62 (34.1%) met criteria for hazardous alcohol use. Hazardous drinking was associated with less frequent skin picking but higher overall picking-related severity and impairment, aggression, and rates of comorbid borderline personality disorder, gambling disorder, and compulsive sexual behavior disorder. Skin picking-related impairment predicted the degree of hazardous drinking while controlling for sex.

This study highlights the importance of screening for hazardous alcohol use in people with skin picking disorder. More research is needed to explore the relationship between aggression, hazardous alcohol use, and skin picking, as well as how treatments might best be adapted to treat individuals with this cluster of symptoms.