When and why does abuse predict reduced autobiographical memory specificity?

Two studies were conducted to explore the conditions that elicit autobiographical memory problems in abuse victims and the mechanism that underlie them. In Study 1 older adolescents (n=80) with and without self-reported abuse histories completed a modified version of the Autobiographical Memory Test...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Memory (Hove) 2012-02, Vol.20 (2), p.121-137
Main Authors: Bunnell, Sarah L., Greenhoot, Andrea Follmer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abuse
Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Adult Survivors of Child Abuse - psychology
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Attention
Autobiographical memory
Avoidance
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Cues
Depression - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Memory specificity
Memory, Episodic
Memory, Short-Term
Post-traumatic stress
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - statistics & numerical data
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Self Report
Spouse Abuse - psychology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
Victimology
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Summary:Two studies were conducted to explore the conditions that elicit autobiographical memory problems in abuse victims and the mechanism that underlie them. In Study 1 older adolescents (n=80) with and without self-reported abuse histories completed a modified version of the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT-U); participants were given an unlimited amount of time to provide specific memories in response to cue words. Participants also completed measures of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), working memory, and attentional biases. This study found that abuse severity and PTSD symptoms were positively related to memory specificity on the AMT-U. In Study 2 older adolescents (n=78) with and without self-reported abuse histories completed the traditional (timed) version of the AMT. Participants also completed measures of working memory, attentional biases, self-reported coping, and psychopathological symptoms (i.e., depression and PTSD). In this study the opposite relationship was observed, such that abuse severity was related to poorer memory specificity, but this relationship was explained by disengagement coping and PTSD symptoms. This work suggests that poor memory specificity may represent a form of avoidance, but the application of avoidant mechanisms depends on the remembering context.
ISSN:0965-8211
1464-0686
DOI:10.1080/09658211.2011.648197