title: Trauma and autobiographical memory specificity in depressed inpatients.
abstract: Research on autobiographical memory has shown that clinical depression is associated with a difficulty in retrieving specific autobiographical memories in response to cue words. This study examined the relation between lack of autobiographical memory specificity and self-reported trauma in a group of depressed adults (N = 23). In addition to the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; Williams & Broadbent, 1986) participants completed a number of questionnaires assessing the presence of traumatic experiences in the past, level of depression and neuroticism. The number of specific responses was not related to depression severity, but was significantly associated with the presence and severity of reported physical abuse. Participants who had been victim of physical abuse were less specific than participants who had not been confronted with such physical adversities. The results are discussed in the context of a functional hypothesis about the developmental relations between memory specificity, trauma and depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. dirk.hermans@psy.kuleuven.ac.be
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hermans
authors.forename: Kris
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van den Broeck
authors.forename: Gerrit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Belis
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Raes
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pieters
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eelen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007439:Introversion, Psychological; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012094:Repression, Psychology