Flexibility in coral-algal symbiosis is positively correlated with the host geographic range.

Generalists are thought to adapt to broader ecological conditions compared to less flexible specialists. However, few studies have systematically tested what ecological or life-history traits are associated with organisms' ecological flexibility. Here, we used stony corals to test the relative effects of host traits and ecological factors on corals' flexibility to form photosymbioses with algae. We analysed data from 211 stony coral species to test if coral's geographic distribution, depth range, symbiont transmission mode or colony morphology predict coral-algal flexibility. We report a novel positive correlation between coral-algal flexibility and coral species' geographic range. Symbiont transmission mode was also a predictor of flexibility, albeit the result is less robust against sampling bias. Coral depth range and morphology did not show significant effects. We highlight that host-symbiont dispersal abilities, interactions and evolutionary histories likely contribute to the observed patterns. We urge conservation efforts to consider the ecological implications of coral-algal flexibility.

Comparative transcriptomics revealed parallel evolution and innovation of photosymbiosis molecular mechanisms in a marine bivalve.

Photosymbioses between heterotrophic hosts and autotrophic symbionts are evolutionarily prevalent and ecologically significant. However, the molecular mechanisms behind such symbioses remain less elucidated, which hinders our understanding of their origin and adaptive evolution. This study compared gene expression patterns in a photosymbiotic bivalve (Fragum sueziense) and a closely related non-symbiotic species (Trigoniocardia granifera) under different light conditions to detect potential molecular pathways involved in mollusc photosymbiosis. We discovered that the presence of algal symbionts greatly impacted host gene expression in symbiont-containing tissues. We found that the host immune functions were suppressed under normal light compared with those in the dark. In addition, we found that cilia in the symbiont-containing tissues play important roles in symbiont regulation or photoreception. Interestingly, many potential photosymbiosis genes could not be annotated or do not exhibit orthologues in T. granifera transcriptomes, indicating unique molecular functions in photosymbiotic bivalves. Overall, we found both novel and known molecular mechanisms involved in animal-algal photosymbiosis within bivalves. Given that many of the molecular pathways are shared among distantly related host lineages, such as molluscs and cnidarians, it indicates that parallel and/or convergent evolution is instrumental in shaping host-symbiont interactions and responses in these organisms.

Association between consumption of nonessential energy-dense food and body mass index among Mexican school-aged children: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Obesity prevalence in Mexican children has increased rapidly and is among the highest in the world. We aimed to estimate the longitudinal association between nonessential energy-dense food (NEDF) consumption and body mass index (BMI) in school-aged children 5 to 11 years, using a cohort study with 6 years of follow-up. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We studied the offspring of women in the Prenatal omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, child growth, and development (POSGRAD) cohort study. NEDF was classified into four main groups: chips and popcorn, sweet bakery products, non-cereal based sweets, and ready-to-eat cereals. We fitted fixed effects models to assess the association between change in NEDF consumption and changes in BMI. RESULTS: Between 5 and 11 years, children increased their consumption of NEDF by 225 kJ/day (53.9 kcal/day). In fully adjusted models, we found that change in total NEDF was not associated with change in children's BMI (0.033 kg/m2, [p = 0.246]). However, BMI increased 0.078 kg/m2 for every 418.6 kJ/day (100 kcal/day) of sweet bakery products (p = 0.035) in fully adjusted models. For chips and popcorn, BMI increased 0.208 kg/m2 (p = 0.035), yet, the association was attenuated after adjustment (p = 0.303). CONCLUSIONS: Changes in total NEDF consumption were not associated with changes in BMI in children. However, increases in the consumption of sweet bakery products were associated with BMI gain. NEDF are widely recognized as providing poor nutrition yet, their impact in Mexican children BMI seems to be heterogeneous.

Pixels and perception: Mapping the association between digital media and psychotic-like experiences in adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) during adolescence can lead to psychotic disorders. Digital media usage has been suggested to link to PLEs, but research is limited on how different types of screen exposure may differentially relate to PLEs over time. This study aimed to examine longitudinal associations between screen usage patterns and PLEs in adolescents. METHODS: Participants comprised 11,876 adolescents assessed annually from ages 9-12 years as part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (ABCD). Screen usage (TV, video games, online video, social media, texting, video chat) and PLEs were assessed via self-report. Longitudinal network analysis models were estimated to examine connections between screen usage types and PLEs across three time points. RESULTS: Two clusters were formed, including digital media for socializing (e.g., social media/texting/video chat) and digital media for entertainment (e.g., online video/video games/TV). Texting and online video(s) had the highest centrality at each time point, suggesting importance in the network. PLE symptoms of hallucinations and concentration difficulties exhibited higher centrality than other symptoms. Online video and TV were influential bridges between screen usage and PLEs. Network structure significantly differed between ages 9-10 and 10-12 years, but global strength was unchanged over time. DISCUSSION: Results highlight the importance of understanding the associations between specific screen usage types and PLE symptoms. Texting and online video usage appear most influential in the development of adolescent PLEs over time. Findings can inform targeted interventions to promote healthy screen habits and reduce PLEs in at-risk youth.

Conceptualising social media addiction: a longitudinal network analysis of social media addiction symptoms and their relationships with psychological distress in a community sample of adults.

BACKGROUND: Problematic social media use has been identified as negatively impacting psychological and everyday functioning and has been identified as a possible behavioural addiction (social media addiction; SMA). Whether SMA can be classified as a distinct behavioural addiction has been debated within the literature, with some regarding SMA as a premature pathologisation of ordinary social media use behaviour and suggesting there is little evidence for its use as a category of clinical concern. This study aimed to understand the relationship between proposed symptoms of SMA and psychological distress and examine these over time in a longitudinal network analysis, in order better understand whether SMA warrants classification as a unique pathology unique from general distress. METHOD: N = 462 adults (Mage = 30.8, SDage = 9.23, 69.3% males, 29% females, 1.9% other sex or gender) completed measures of social media addiction (Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale), and psychological distress (DASS-21) at two time points, twelve months apart. Data were analysed using network analysis (NA) to explore SMA symptoms and psychological distress. Specifically, NA allows to assess the 'influence' and pathways of influence of each symptom in the network both cross-sectionally at each time point, as well as over time. RESULTS: SMA symptoms were found to be stable cross-sectionally over time, and were associated with, yet distinct, from, depression, anxiety and stress. The most central symptoms within the network were tolerance and mood-modification in terms of expected influence and closeness respectively. Depression symptoms appeared to have less of a formative effect on SMA symptoms than anxiety and stress. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the conceptualisation of SMA as a distinct construct occurring based on an underpinning network cluster of behaviours and a distinct association between SMA symptoms and distress. Further replications of these findings, however, are needed to strengthen the evidence for SMA as a unique behavioural addiction.

Exploratory structural equation modeling: a streamlined step by step approach using the R Project software.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) has been a popular yet limited approach to assessing latent factor structures. Despite items rarely loading exclusively on one latent factor in multifactorial scales, CFA assumes all indicators/items should load uniquely on their allocated latent dimensions. To address this weakness, Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) combines exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and CFA procedures, allowing cross-loadings to occur when assessing hypothesized models. Although such advantages have enhanced ESEM popularity, its adoption is often limited by software rigidity and complex coding difficulties. To address these obstacles, the current tutorial presents a streamlined, step-by-step approach using the open-source software R while providing both R and Mplus ESEM syntax. The tutorial demonstrates the sequence of the ESEM stages by examining the frequently debated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) factor structure, using openly accessible data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). As ESEM may allow a better understanding of the complex associations in multidimensional scales, this tutorial may optimize the epidemiological and clinical assessment of common yet multifaceted psychiatric presentations.

Suicidal behaviors in the entertainment industry: a preliminary exploration of the interplay between work scheduling, social support, and wellbeing in Australia.

OBJECTIVE: Workers of the Australian entertainment industry exhibit disproportionately high rates of impaired psychological wellbeing and suicidal behaviors, with such rates being exacerbated by the negative impact of working long and odd hours (Work Scheduling Impact; WSI). Nonetheless, stable and secure social support networks may buffer the risks associated with such systemic difficulties. METHODS: The responses of 1302 Australian entertainment industry workers (50.3% females, Mage 38.39 years) on the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Short Form Health Survey, WSI, and suicidal behaviors questions were examined via moderation analyses. RESULTS: Higher social support and lower WSI appeared to reduce the suicidal ideation of those experiencing poorer mental health, while lower WSI further enhanced social support's positive effect. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the likely detrimental effect of WSI regarding the suicidal ideation reported by vulnerable Australian entertainment industry workers and stress the importance of the social support they experience. PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS: Interventions attempting to increase social support could improve inherent conditions associated with the Australian entertainment industry. Similarly, the negative effect of working long and odd hours on workers' mental health and suicidal behaviors indicates the need to regulate the industry appropriately.

Exploring the digital footprint of depression: a PRISMA systematic literature review of the empirical evidence.

BACKGROUND: This PRISMA systematic literature review examined the use of digital data collection methods (including ecological momentary assessment [EMA], experience sampling method [ESM], digital biomarkers, passive sensing, mobile sensing, ambulatory assessment, and time-series analysis), emphasizing on digital phenotyping (DP) to study depression. DP is defined as the use of digital data to profile health information objectively. AIMS: Four distinct yet interrelated goals underpin this study: (a) to identify empirical research examining the use of DP to study depression; (b) to describe the different methods and technology employed; (c) to integrate the evidence regarding the efficacy of digital data in the examination, diagnosis, and monitoring of depression and (d) to clarify DP definitions and digital mental health records terminology. RESULTS: Overall, 118 studies were assessed as eligible. Considering the terms employed, "EMA", "ESM", and "DP" were the most predominant. A variety of DP data sources were reported, including voice, language, keyboard typing kinematics, mobile phone calls and texts, geocoded activity, actigraphy sensor-related recordings (i.e., steps, sleep, circadian rhythm), and self-reported apps' information. Reviewed studies employed subjectively and objectively recorded digital data in combination with interviews and psychometric scales. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest links between a person's digital records and depression. Future research recommendations include (a) deriving consensus regarding the DP definition and (b) expanding the literature to consider a person's broader contextual and developmental circumstances in relation to their digital data/records.

The impact of a cartoon character on adults perceptions of Children's breakfast cereals: a randomized experiment.

BACKGROUND: Cartoon characters on processed food packaging increase the perception of product preference among children, but their effect among adults has rarely been examined. We evaluated the effect of a cartoon character on breakfast cereals on beliefs about buying them for children, as well as whether demographic characteristics modified this effect. METHODS: An experimental study was conducted with adults from online consumer panels in Mexico (n = 3755). Participants were randomly assigned to a "cartoon" condition (n = 1789), in which they viewed a breakfast cereal box with a Minion character on the front of the package, or the "control" condition (n = 1966), in which the same cereal box was displayed with no character on the package. Participants were asked: "Is this a good cereal to buy children?" with the response options "Yes", "No", or "Don't know". Multinomial adjusted logistic models regressed responses to this question (Yes = 0, No = 1, 2 = Don't know) on experimental condition. Differences in the effect of the cartoon character across demographic characteristics were tested by introducing multiplicative interaction terms. RESULTS: The adjusted model showed that participants in the "cartoon character" condition were 1.67 (1.45-1.94) times more likely to consider the cereal as being "Not good to buy for children" than those in the control condition (p < 0.001). This effect was smaller among parents (RRR = 1.39, 1.13-1.72) compared to those without children (RRR = 2.01, 1.63-2.47). No differences were observed in the proportion of participants answering "Don't know" across experimental groups. CONCLUSION: Among this sample of Mexican adults, a cereal with a cartoon character on the packaging was more often perceived as "not good to buy for children" compared to a cereal without it. This effect was smaller among parents, potentially due to children influences of parental decisions during food purchasing.

Enantiopure 4-oxazolin-2-ones and 4-methylene-2-oxazolidinones as chiral building blocks in a divergent asymmetric synthesis of heterocycles.

Enantiopure 3-((R)- and 3-((S)-1-phenylethyl)-4-oxazoline-2-ones were evaluated as chiral building blocks for the divergent construction of heterocycles with stereogenic quaternary centers. The N-(R)- or N-(S)-1-phenylethyl group of these compounds proved to be an efficient chiral auxiliary for the asymmetric induction of the 4- and 5-positions of the 4-oxazolin-2-one ring through thermal and MW-promoted nucleophilic conjugated addition to Michael acceptors and alkyl halides. The resulting adducts were transformed via a cascade process into fused six-membered carbo- and heterocycles. The structure of the reaction products depended on the electrophiles and reaction conditions used. Alternative isomeric 4-methylene-2-oxazolidinones served as chiral precursors for a versatile and divergent approach to highly substituted cyclic carbamates. DFT quantum calculations showed that the formation of bicyclic pyranyl compounds was generated by a diastereoselective concerted hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition.

Synthesis of Polyheterocyclic Pyrrolo[3,4-b]pyridin-5-ones via a One-Pot (Ugi-3CR/aza Diels-Alder/N-acylation/aromatization/SN2) Process. A Suitable Alternative towards Novel Aza-Analogues of Falipamil.

We describe the one-pot synthesis of twenty polyheterocyclic pyrrolo[3,4-b]pyridin-5-ones via a cascade process (Ugi-3CR/aza Diels-Alder/N-acylation/aromatization) in 20 to 95% overall yields, as well as four pharmacologically promising analogues via an improved cascade process (Ugi-3CR/aza Diels-Alder/N-acylation/aromatization/SN2): two piperazine-linked pyrrolo[3,4-b]pyridin-5-ones in 33 and 34%, and a couple of Falipamil aza-analogues in 30 and 35% overall yields. It is worth highlighting the good substrate scope found, because final products are furnished with alkyl, aryl, and heterocyclic substituents. The use of chain-ring tautomerizable isocyanides (as key reagents for the Ugi-type three component reaction) allowed for a rapid and efficient assembly of the polysubstituted oxindoles, which were used in situ toward the complex products, conferring features like robustness, sustainability, and the one-pot approach to this synthetic methodology.

An ecological study of stillbirths in Mexico from 2000 to 2013.

OBJECTIVE: To examine trends in the rate of stillbirths at or after 21 weeks' gestation in Mexico from 2000 to 2013, identify factors associated with stillbirths and estimate subnational variability in stillbirth rates and the proportion of deaths occurring intrapartum. METHODS: This population-based, ecological study involved data from a national database on 263 475 stillbirths in 29 Mexican states and maternal sociodemographic factors. Subnational variability in the stillbirth rate in 2012 was investigated and stillbirths in 2013 were categorized as intrapartum or antepartum according to the fetus' skin condition. FINDINGS: The national stillbirth rate declined from 9.2 to 7.2 per 1000 births between 2000 and 2013 (i.e. -1.9% per year). The prevalence of stillbirths varied 3.9-fold between states. Stillbirths were associated, in particular, with: residence in Mexico City (odds ratio, OR: 1.71; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.68-1.73) or central Mexico (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.34-1.38); maternal education of 9 years or less (OR:1.10; 95% CI: 1.08-1.11) or 10 to 12 years (OR: 1.16; 95% CI: 1.14-1.18); mothers younger than 15 years (OR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.55-1.72) or older than 34 years (OR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.66-1.70); and male fetal sex (OR: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.19-1.21). Overall, 51% (7348/14 344) of fetal deaths occurred intrapartum. CONCLUSION: In Mexico, the total stillbirth rate declined between 2000 and 2013, however geographical variations were observed. Stillbirths were associated with sociodemographic factors. The proportion of intrapartum stillbirths was relatively high, suggesting that health system performance could be improved, especially at places of delivery.

Plain water consumption is associated with lower intake of caloric beverage: cross-sectional study in Mexican adults with low socioeconomic status.

BACKGROUND: Plain water (PW) should be the main beverage consumed by the population. However, consumption of caloric beverages (CB) has increased considerably worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the association between CB and PW intake in Mexican adults with a low socioeconomic status (SES). METHODS: In a cross-sectional design, beverage consumption was evaluated with a 24-h beverages recall using the five-step multiple-pass method recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Physical activity, anthropometric and sociodemographic information were obtained. CB was defined as those beverages that provide energy, with the exception of low-fat milk and beverages with noncaloric sweeteners. Participants were classified into five groups according to their PW consumption (nondrinkers and four quartiles). Differences between groups were evaluated with ANOVA and Bonferroni tests for multiple comparisons among quartiles. A two-stage Heckman regression model was designed with robust standard errors, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: A total of 1108 adults between 21 and 59 years of age were evaluated. A negative association was noted between PW intake and CB consumption (p <0.001) with the exception of natural juice, which was positive (p <0.01) and sodas that no differences were found between quartiles. Specifically, for every milliliter of PW, the intake of CB was 3.4, 1.3, 0.68 and 0.38 mL in each quartile, respectively (p <0.001). In Heckman's model, PW consumers were 0.5 times less likely to consume CB (p = 0.029). This probability increased to 0.9 for low-fat milk, skim milk and beverages without added sugar (LFM-BWAS) consumers (p <0.001). Also, for every 100 mL of PW consumption, CB intake diminished by 20 mL (p <0.001). In turn, for every 100 mL of LFM-BWAS consumption, a reduction of 47 mL in CB was observed (p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher PW consumption was associated with lower CB consumption. This association suggests that future studies are warranted to determine if increasing PW intake in a low SES Mexican population can reduce intake of CB.

Mapping the links between sexual addiction and gambling disorder: A Bayesian network approach.

Contemporary literature and recent classification systems have expanded the field of addictions to include problematic behaviours such as gambling and sexual addiction. However, conceptualisation of behavioural addictions is poorly understood and gender-based differences have emerged in relation to how these behaviours are expressed. The current research conducted partial-correlation and Bayesian network analyses to assess the symptomatic structure of gambling disorder and sexual addiction. Convenience community sampling recruited 937 adults aged 18 to 64 years (315 females, Mage = 30.02; 622 males, Mage = 29.46). Symptoms of problematic behaviours were measured using the Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGDQ) and the Bergen Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS). Results indicate distinct gender-based differences in the symptom networks of sexual addiction and gambling disorder, with a more complex network observed amongst men for both conditions. Addiction salience, withdrawal and dishonesty/deception were important components of the addictive network. Interpersonal conflict was more central for women while intrapsychic conflict a more prominent issue for men. Differences in the two symptom networks indicate separate disorders as opposed to a single underlying construct. Treating practitioners and community initiatives aimed at addressing sexual addiction and disordered gambling should consider gender, when designing educational or therapeutic interventions.

Psychometric properties of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale: An analysis using item response theory.

Background: Social media use has become an everyday behavior in contemporary life resulting in increased participation. A minority of individuals, especially younger adults, may engage excessively with the medium, resulting in the emergence of problematic social media use (PSMU). One way of assessing PSMU is by administering the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). The present study investigated the psychometric properties and prevalence of the BSMAS using Item Response Theory (IRT). Additionally, it evaluated risk factors such as gender and age. Methods: A relatively large community sample (N = 968, Mage  = 29.5 years, SD = 9.36, 32.5% women) completed the BSMAS online. Results: IRT analyses showed differences regarding the BSMAS items' discrimination, difficulty, and reliability capacities, with a raw score exceeding 26 (out of 30) indicating a higher risk of PSMU (n = 11; 1.1%). Females and younger participants were at greater risk of developing PSMU. Conclusion: The BSMAS functions as a reliable measure of PSMU, particularly between average to high levels of the trait. Additionally, younger participants were shown to be at higher risk of PSMU suggesting that prevention and intervention protocols should focus on this group.

Identifying self-disclosed anxiety on Twitter: A natural language processing approach.

BACKGROUND: Text analyses of social media posts are a promising source of mental health information. This study used natural language processing to explore distinct language patterns on Twitter related to self-reported anxiety diagnosis. METHODS: A total of 233.000 tweets made by 605 users (300 reporting anxiety diagnosis and 305 not) over six months were comparatively analysed, considering user behavior, Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC), and sentiment analysis. Twitter users with a self-disclosed diagnosis of anxiety were classified as 'anxious' to facilitate group comparisons. RESULTS: Supervised machine learning models showed a high prediction accuracy (Naïve Bayes 81.1 %, Random Forests 79.8 %, and LASSO-regression 79.4 %) in identifying Twitter users' self-disclosed diagnosis of anxiety. Additionally, a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) identified four profiles characterized by high sentiment (31 % anxious participants), low sentiment (68 % anxious), self-immersed (80 % anxious), and normative behavior (38 % anxious). CONCLUSION: The digital footprint of self-disclosed anxiety on Twitter posts presented a high frequency of words conveying either negative sentiment, a low frequency of positive sentiment, a reduced frequency of posting, and lengthier texts. These distinct patterns enabled highly accurate prediction of anxiety diagnosis. On this basis, appropriately resourced, awareness raising, online mental health campaigns are advocated.

Deep learning(s) in gaming disorder through the user-avatar bond: A longitudinal study using machine learning.

Background and aims: Gaming disorder [GD] risk has been associated with the way gamers bond with their visual representation (i.e., avatar) in the game-world. More specifically, a gamer's relationship with their avatar has been shown to provide reliable mental health information about the user in their offline life, such as their current and prospective GD risk, if appropriately decoded. Methods: To contribute to the paucity of knowledge in this area, 565 gamers (Mage = 29.3 years; SD =10.6) were assessed twice, six months apart, using the User-Avatar-Bond Scale (UABS) and the Gaming Disorder Test. A series of tuned and untuned artificial intelligence [AI] classifiers analysed concurrently and prospectively their responses. Results: Findings showed that AI models learned to accurately and automatically identify GD risk cases, based on gamers' reported UABS score, age, and length of gaming involvement, both concurrently and longitudinally (i.e., six months later). Random forests outperformed all other AIs, while avatar immersion was shown to be the strongest training predictor. Conclusion: Study outcomes demonstrated that the user-avatar bond can be translated into accurate, concurrent and future GD risk predictions using trained AI classifiers. Assessment, prevention, and practice implications are discussed in the light of these findings.

Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGD-Q): An item r'esponse theory examination.

Gambling disorder behaviours, such as one's preoccupation with gambling and/or mood modification due to gambling, have been proposed to differ in their diagnostic weight/importance, especially when informing diagnostic scales. Such potential differences are imperative to be considered to improve assessment accuracy. The latter is particularly important in the light of the rapidly increasing gambling opportunities offered online. To contribute to this area of knowledge, the current study assessed an online adult community sample (N = 968, Mage  = 29.5 years, SDage  = 9.36 years) regarding their responses on the Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGD-Q). Item response theory (IRT) procedures examined the psychometric properties of the instrument, at both the item and the scale level. Results indicated that the OGD-Q demonstrated good capacity to reliably assess problem gambling and differentiate between individuals at similar levels of the trait, particularly between 1 and 3 SDs above the mean. The findings also showed OGD-Q components/items possess varying discrimination capacities, whilst they also differ in reliability across respondents with different levels of disordered gambling behaviours. Thus, it is supported that consideration is required regarding the differential weighting of one's item responses in the assessment procedure, taking concurrently into account their severity of disordered gambling behaviours.

Unravelling the web of addictions: A network analysis approach.

Common elements across different forms of addiction suggest the possibility of comorbid addictions, as well as the transition/replacement of one form of addiction with another. This study aimed to conduct a Network analysis of symptoms of 10 forms of addictive behaviors to examine their behavioral commonalities/ interrelations. Methods: To address this aim, an online community sample of 968 adult participants (33.6% women, 66.4% men) completed self-rating questionnaires covering a range of addictive behaviors including alcohol, drugs, tobacco, sex, online gambling, internet use, internet gaming, social media use, shopping, and exercise. Their responses were examined with regularized partial correlation network analysis (EBICglasso) and a community detection algorithm (Walktrap) to identify: (a) specific links between neighboring forms of addiction; and (b) clustering of symptoms of addiction. Results: Findings showed positive network connections across different addictive behaviors, with addictive tendencies towards gambling showing the highest centrality, sequentially followed by addictive tendencies towards internet use, internet gaming, alcohol, shopping, social media use, drugs, sex, smoking, and exercise. Conclusion: Symptoms associated with disordered drug use and gambling are suggested to maintain severity of addictive disorders and increase the likelihood of developing cross addictive behaviors. Clinical implications for the assessment and treatment of addiction comorbidities and the replacement of one form of addiction with another are discussed considering these findings.