Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-16T17:12:04.275Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Autobiographical Memory in Depression: State or Trait Marker?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

A. D. Brittlebank ,
Jan Scott ,
J. Mark ,
G. Williams  and
I. N. Ferrier
A. D. Brittlebank*
Affiliation:
Fairnington Centre, Corbridge Road, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 1QJ
Jan Scott
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
J. Mark
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, UCNW, Bangor, Clwyd
G. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, UCNW, Bangor, Clwyd
I. N. Ferrier
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Two cognitive measures were used to assess 22 patients who met DSM–III–R criteria for major depressive disorder: the Autobiographical Memory (AM) test and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale. They were followed up over seven months. Measurement of dysfunctional attitudes did not predict outcome at seven months. Overgeneral recall on the AM test at initial assessment, especially for emotionally positive memories, was highly correlated with failure to recover from depression and accounted for 33% of the variance in HRSD score at follow-up. Overgeneral recall of emotional memories did not change during follow-up. It is suggested that overgenerality is a trait marker indicating vulnerability to persistent depression.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 162 , Issue 1 , January 1993 , pp. 118 - 121
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P. & Teasdale, J. (1978) Learned helplessness in humans: critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn, revised) (DSM–III–R). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T. (1976) Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. New York: American Library.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., et al (1979) Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Blaney, P. H. (1986) Affect and memory: a review. Psychological Bulletin, 99, 229–246.Google Scholar
Carney, M. W. P., Roth, M. & Garside, R. F. (1965) The diagnosis of depressive syndromes and the prediction of ECT response. British Journal of Psychiatry, 111, 659–674.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, D. A. (1988) The validity of measures of cognition: a review of the literature. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 12, 1–20.Google Scholar
Doerfler, L. A. & Richards, C. S. (1981) Self initiated attempts to cope with depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 5, 367–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fairchild, C. J., Rush, A. J., Vasavada, N., et al (1986) Which depressions respond to placebo? Psychiatry Research, 18, 217–226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1960) A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 23, 56–62.Google Scholar
Lloyd, G. G. & Lishman, W. A. (1974) Effect of depression on the speed of recall of pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Psychological Medicine, 5, 173–180 Google Scholar
Moore, R. G., Watts, F. N. & Williams, J. M. G. (1988) The specificity of personal memories in depression. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27, 275–276.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. A. (1976) Sampling autobiographical memory. Cognitive Psychology, 8, 578–595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spss Inc. (1988) Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-X) (Release 3.0). Illinois: SPSS.Google Scholar
Teasdale, J. D. (1988) Cognitive vulnerability to persistent depression. Cognition and Emotion, 2, 247–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weissman, A. N. (1979) The dysfunctional attitude scale: a validation validation study. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania. Dissertation Abstracts International, 40, 1389–1390.Google Scholar
Williams, J. M. G. & Broadbent, K. (1986) Autobiographical memory in attempted suicide patients. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 144–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, J. M. G. & Dritschel, B. H. (1988) Emotional disturbance and the specificity of autobiographical memory. Cognition and Emotion, 22, 221–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, J. M. G. & Scott, J. (1988) Autobiographical memory in depression. Psychological Medicine, 18, 689–695.Google Scholar
Williams, J. M. G., Watts, F. N., MacLeod, C., et al (1988) Cognitive Psychology and Emotional Disorders. Chichester: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Williams, J. M. G., Healy, D., Teasdale, J. D., et al (1990) Dysfunctional attitudes and vulnerability to persistent depression. Psychological Medicine, 20, 375–381.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.