**3. Results**

Most participants in the study were single (*n* = 97, 61.8%) and had achieved secondary education levels (*n* = 74, 47.1%). Mean age was 33.2 years (SD = 11.9), mean age of onset of the eating problems was 21.1 years (SD = 9.4) and mean duration of the eating problems was 12.3 years (SD = 9.1). Table 1 includes the comparison between the groups for the descriptive variables. Considering the groups defined by the ED-subtype, BED included patients with the highest age and the oldest age of onset. Comparison between the clusters identified differences for age and onset for the dysfunctional cluster (C1), which had lower means compared to the moderate (C2) and the functional (C3) clusters.

Figure 1 displays the 100% stacked bar chart with the percentage of patients with a specific ED subtype within each cluster. Differences between the groups were found: The dysfunctional cluster (C1) included a high and similar distribution for BN and OSFED patients; the moderate (C2) cluster included mostly BN patients, following by a high percentage as well of BED; the functional (C3) cluster included a high proportion of BN patients, and similar percentage of BED and OSFED.


**Table 1.**

Descriptive

 of the sample.

The upper part of Table 2 shows the comparison between the clusters at baseline, and the lower part of the table shows the comparison for the CBT treatment outcomes. FA levels was higher in the moderate cluster (C2), followed by the dysfunctional one (C1), while the C3 (functional) presented the lower levels of FA. According to clinical characteristics, the dysfunctional cluster (C1) was characterized by the lowest mean for the BMI, the highest ED symptom levels (except for the EDI-2 bulimia scale), the worst psychopathology global state, and the highest levels in the personality domains of harm avoidance and selftranscendence. This cluster was also the one with the lowest percentage of participant with full remission (see also Figure 2). The functional cluster (C3) was the cluster with the lowest ED severity level, best psychological state, the lowest score in harm avoidance, and the highest scores in the personality traits of reward-dependence, persistence, self-directedness and cooperativeness. As well, this cluster also had the highest percentage of patients with full remission (Figure 2). C2, the moderate one, present intermediate levels of these clinical characteristics; however, it had the highest levels of dropouts.

**Figure 2.** Distribution of the CBT outcomes within the clusters. Note. C1: cluster 1, dysfunctional cluster. C2: cluster 2, moderate cluster. C3: cluster 3, functional cluster. df = degrees of freedom. Sample size: *n* = 157.


Inventory; CBT:

cognitive–behavioural

 therapy. \* Bold: significant comparison (0.05). † Bold: effect size into the ranges

mild-moderate

 to the high-large.
