title: A decline in self-defining memories following a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
abstract: Receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia can be a profound life transition that often has a negative influence on the patient's sense of self. The present study is the first to examine how self-defining memories are temporally distributed around age at diagnosis of schizophrenia.
  
  
  
  25 patients and 25 matched control participants identified 3 self-defining memories from their lives. In addition, participants were assessed with standardized interviews and questionnaires on negative and positive symptoms as well as tests of cognitive function.
  
  
  
  Patients' self-defining memories increased in the years leading up to diagnosis and declined abruptly in the years immediately following diagnosis. The pre-diagnosis increase in self-defining memories was not attributable primarily to a rise in disease-related recollections.
  
  
  
  The sharp post-diagnosis memory decline suggests that patients find it difficult to establish new or evolve existing definitions of self. Implications for models of schizophrenia and for clinical practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Aarhus University, Denmark; Center on Autobiographical Memory Research, (CON AMORE), Aarhus University, Denmark; Aarhus University Hospital Risskov, Psychosis Research Unit, Denmark. Electronic address: Tinehol9@rm.dk.
authors.forename: Tine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Holm
authors.affiliation: University of New Hampshire, Department of Psychology, USA.
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Pillemer
authors.affiliation: Aarhus University Hospital Risskov, Psychosis Research Unit, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark.
authors.forename: Vibeke
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bliksted
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Aarhus University, Denmark; Center on Autobiographical Memory Research, (CON AMORE), Aarhus University, Denmark.
authors.forename: Dorthe Kirkegaard
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Thomsen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult