Cyberchondria is a dysfunctional behavioral pattern characterized by an excessive and anxiety-amplifying engagement in searching for reassuring health information on the Internet. Research demonstrated that somatic symptoms and health anxiety might foster maladaptive health-related behaviors, such as cyberchondria. However, the relationships between somatic symptoms, health anxiety, and cyberchondria have been scarcely examined. Accordingly, this study aimed to test the mediating effect of health anxiety on the association between somatic symptoms and cyberchondria. Four hundred and thirty-one adults from the community (158 males, 36.66%), aged between 18 and 74, were recruited via an online survey. Participants completed self-report measures of somatic symptoms, health anxiety, and cyberchondria. A mediation analysis demonstrated that the severity of somatic symptoms predicted increased levels of cyberchondria and that health anxiety partially mediated this association. Therefore, interventions aimed at decreasing health anxiety may also play a role in decreasing the risk of developing cyberchondria.

Problematic gaming has been consistently associated with insecure attachment styles and alexithymia. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the impact of specific alexithymic features and insecure attachment styles on problematic gaming. The study included a sample of 358 online game players (242 males, 67.6%) between the ages of 18 and 59 (M = 28.46; SD = 8.76) who were recruited from online gaming communities. The participants completed a sociodemographic schedule and measures on attachment styles, alexithymia, and problematic gaming. The results provide evidence for a positive prediction of problematic gaming by dismissing attachment style and the alexithymic factors concerning the difficulty identifying feelings and externally oriented thinking, even when controlling for potentially confounding factors, such as age, sex, education, marital status, and self-reported time devoted to online games. Additionally, the analysis revealed a significant interaction effect between externally oriented thinking and dismissing attachment style in the prediction of problematic gaming. The interaction implies that the alexithymia factors pertaining to externally oriented thinking hold significant relevance in predicting problematic gaming behaviors, especially in cases where dismissive attachment levels are moderately to highly present. These findings emphasize the significance of considering specific insecure attachment styles and alexithymic features when studying problematic gaming behaviors.

Attachment styles and defense mechanisms are widely recognized as central components in personality development. However, few empirical studies have examined their combined contribution to maladaptive personality traits within the dimensional framework of the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD). This study investigated the extent to which adult attachment styles and defense mechanisms predict the five AMPD maladaptive personality domains: negative affectivity, detachment, antagonism, disinhibition, and psychoticism. Data were collected from a community sample of 400 adults (190 males, 47.5%), aged 18 to 69 years (M = 36.96; SD = 11.59). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted for each maladaptive personality domain to examine the predictive roles of attachment styles and defense mechanisms. Our findings indicate that each maladaptive personality domain is associated with specific configurations of attachment styles and defense mechanisms. In conclusion, the findings suggest the relevance of assessing adult attachment styles and defensive functioning in clinical contexts in order to deepen the understanding of the individuals’ personality profiles.

This commentary builds on King et al. (2025) to distinguish benign gaming from harm, framing gaming disorder as a rigid narrowing of experience marked by relational costs, inflexibility, and loss of alternatives. We introduce a concentric three-layer model—subjective symptoms, gaming's symbolic functions tied to vulnerabilities, and its sociocultural context—to guide assessment and treatment as dynamic meaning-making processes. Emphasizing stable functional impairment, loss of alternatives and markers of suffering over temporal cutoffs, this approach calls for interventions centering personal narrative, restoring agency, relatedness and belonging, and recognizing gaming's existential roles within individuals' life trajectories and social ecologies of play.

Background/Objectives: Online pornography use (OPU) is widespread, yet the psychological characteristics associated with engagement in OPU remain insufficiently understood. This study examined whether maladaptive personality domains and alexithymic traits were associated with self-reported past-month OPU. Methods: A total of 525 adults (59.8% females), aged 18-68 years (M = 30.08; SD = 11.03), completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and self-report measures assessing online activities, maladaptive personality domains, and alexithymia. OPU was assessed as a dichotomous indicator of any online pornography use in the previous month. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted controlling for sociodemographic factors and other online activities. Results: Higher detachment (OR = 1.15, p = .02), difficulty identifying feelings (OR = 1.11, p < .001), and dating-site use (OR = 4.26, p = .001) were associated with higher odds of reporting past-month OPU. Being female (OR = 0.16, p < .001), psychoticism (OR = 0.88, p = .03), and externally oriented thinking (OR = 0.95, p = .04) were associated with lower odds. Conclusions: High levels of detachment and difficulty identifying feelings were associated with the likelihood of reporting past-month OPU. The findings are compatible with the view of OPU as a possible symbolic substitute for intimacy, and suggest that, for some individuals, OPU may occur in the context of interpersonal detachment and difficulties in emotional awareness.