Objective Research evidence suggests the need to identify treatments based on a more precise characterization of psychopathology and psychiatric comorbidity in anorexia nervosa. Network analysis provides a new method to conceptualize psychopathology. We use this approach to investigate the relationships between eating disorder and general psychiatric symptoms in adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Methods Four‐hundred and five adolescents with anorexia nervosa and illness duration less than 3 years were consecutively recruited from those admitted to inpatient treatment. They completed the following questionnaires: the Eating Disorder Inventory‐3, the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, the Children's Depression Inventory, and the Youth Self Report. A network analysis was conducted, including eating psychopathology measures, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and obsessive–compulsive and post‐traumatic stress problems. We employ a novel approach, the bridge function, to identify symptom clusters. Results Depression symptoms and personal alienation were the nodes with the highest centrality in the network, followed by asceticism, post‐traumatic stress problems, drive to thinness, low self‐esteem, and anxiety physical symptoms. Three symptom clusters (relative to eating disorder psychopathology, self‐esteem problems, and internalizing difficulties) were identified. Depression symptoms, personal alienation, low self‐esteem, and interoceptive deficits showed the highest bridge centrality. Besides eating disorder core symptoms, negative affect and internalizing symptoms seem to contribute to anorexia nervosa psychopathology independently from illness duration effects. Discussion These findings suggest that anorexia nervosa is characterized by a broad psychopathological spectrum rather than the mere eating disorder core symptoms, confirm the need to re‐conceptualize psychiatric comorbidity in this disorder, and provide intriguing diagnostic and therapeutic implications.

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This study aims at examining whether adolescent girls diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and their parents differ in perceiving the different aspects of family functioning. Moreover, the discrepancy between adolescent girls and healthy controls on Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales dimensions, family communication, and family satisfaction is investigated. The study includes 36 female anorexia patients and their parents and 36 healthy controls. The results showed a different view between mothers and their daughters with regard to the dimension of rigidity. In addition, girls with anorexia nervosa were less satisfied about family environment and rated their families as less communicative, flexible, cohesive, and more disengaged, compared to controls.

Objective: Although the fifth Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile is the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders-5 weight cutoff criterion to diagnose anorexia nervosa (AN) in children and adolescents, its validity has not been proved, and the 10th percentile value is often applied. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic validity of these weight cutoffs. Method: We compared general and eating-disorder (ED) specific psychopathology in 380 adolescents with AN or atypical AN. They were grouped first with respect to the fifth BMI percentile and then with respect to the 10th BMI percentile and differences between groups were analysed. Network analyses on psychopathological symptoms were also conducted. Results: Adolescents with BMI above the fifth and the 10th percentile reported more severe ED specific symptomatology compared to those with BMI below these cutoffs. No significant differences emerged between groups neither in general psychopathology nor in the network structure of psychopathology. Conclusions: The fifth BMI percentile does not discriminate psychopathology severity in adolescents with AN. From the psychopathology perspective, our findings suggest that adolescents with atypical AN deserve the same clinical and research attention as those with full AN. Future studies are needed to identify a more accurate definition of underweight in adolescents.

The current guidelines for treatment of Anorexia Nervosa (AN) in children and adolescents recommend an\ud integrated multidisciplinary approach as the elective intervention for this disorder. Nevertheless, there is insufficient evidence on the results of an integrated approach for the treatment of AN adolescent patients, especially in a Hospital setting. This study aims to analyze clinical and psychological changes occurring in adolescent patients after completion of a Day-Hospital Multifocal Integrated Treatment (MIT) for Anorexia Nervosa. The sample consisted of 60 adolescents with AN or Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) restrictive type, aged 11 to 18 years, and their parents. Clinical course was evaluated at 3, 6 and 12-month follow-up periods. Our results showed clinical remission in a good percentage of patients. In general, we found a significant reduction of the eating psychopathology, whereas we did not detect any significant improvement in body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, and relational difficulties. This positive trend was confirmed at 3, 6, and 12-month follow-up, despite the increase of drop-outs. These results suggest that the proposed treatment is reasonably effective, because it aims to contain and reduce the acute phase of the disease in a limited time and in a hospital setting, but it is necessary to continue the treatment with targeted psychotherapeutic interventions to address the deeper psychological discomfort underlying the eating disorde