*3.2. Comparison of Impulsivity and Compulsivity Measures*

Table 2 contains the ANCOVA results with a comparison between the means registered in the impulsivity and compulsivity measures, adjusted for the covariates of sex, age, educational level, and BMI (see Figure 1 for the performance line graph for the adjusted mean scores). These results provide evidence for differences between the groups. As expected, the HC achieved the highest performance in the neuropsychological measures (highest means in the IGT and lowest means in the WCST errors and perseverative errors), the lowest mean in harm avoidance, and the lowest psychological distress. AN-R showed the worst performance in the IGT task (the scores were similar to those obtained among GD patients), the lowest mean in the novelty seeking trait, and the highest mean in harm avoidance (for this personality trait, the mean score was quite similar to OB-DM). Regarding the IGT total raw score, patients with OB + DM achieved worse performance compared to the HC group, whereas no differences were found between the participants in the OB-DM group and the HC group. The OB-DM condition reported the worst performance in the WCST task and the highest mean in the harm avoidance scale. The GD patients also achieved poor performance in the neuropsychological task, and the highest mean in the novelty seeking dimension. Figure 2 includes the line chart showing the performance learning curve in the IGT task. HC obtained the best performance, followed by OB-DM and OB + DM, while AN-R and GD achieved the worst results.

Regarding polynomial contrasts, most measures did not adjust to a linear trend, while other quadratic–cubic–quartic functions achieved statistical significance (Table 2). These results indicated that other patterns in data with many fluctuations are more likely to appear than simply increasing or decreasing means within the impulsivity–compulsivity continuous spectrum.


**Table 2.** Comparison between the groups in impulsivity and compulsivity measurements. ANCOVA adjusted by sex, age, education and BMI.

Note. AN-R: anorexia nervosa restrictive. HC: healthy control. GD: gambling disorder. OB − T2D: obesity without T2D. OB + T2D: obesity with T2D. IGT: Iowa gambling test. SCL-90: Symptom Checklist—90 Items—Revised. TCI-R: Temperament and Character Inventory–Revised. WCST: Wisconsin card sorting test. SD: standard deviation. O1: order 1, linear. O2: order 2, quadratic. O3: order 3, cubic. O4: order 4, quartic. η2: partial eta squared. \* Bold: significant parameter. **†** Bold: effect size within the ranges moderate/medium to large/high. Note. AN-R: anorexia nervosa restrictive. OB − T2D: obesity without T2D. HC: healthy control. OB + T2D: obesity with T2D. GD: gambling disorder. IGT: Iowa gambling test. WCST: Wisconsin card sorting test. *Y*-axis represents the means adjusted by sex, age, education, and BMI.
