Correlates of autobiographical memory specificity: the role of depression, anxiety and childhood trauma.
The present study examined the role of childhood trauma, major depressive disorder (MDD), and anxiety disorder (AD) in overgeneral autobiographical memory. Ninety-three outpatients and 24 healthy controls completed a childhood trauma questionnaire and an autobiographical memory test (AMT). Results showed that MDD diagnosis rather than trauma history predicted AMT-performance. Memory specificity was not related to AD diagnosis, recovered MDD, or self-rated depression severity. The present findings cast doubts on theories that emphasize the role of childhood trauma in overgeneral autobiographical memory.
Department of Psychology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. i.wessel@psychology.unimaas.nl
I
I
Wessel
M
M
Meeren
F
F
Peeters
A
A
Arntz
H
H
Merckelbach
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D001325:Autobiographies as Topic; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005793:Generalization, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012074:Remission Induction; D012720:Severity of Illness Index