Examining Autobiographical Memory Content in Patients with Depression and Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to move beyond the traditional specificity model of autobiographical memory (ABM) and to examine the content of memories with a focus on disorder and schema-relevant content. The sample (N = 82) included 25 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), 24 with social phobia (SP), and 33 with panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) who were referred to a large outpatient clinic for group treatment of depression or anxiety. Participants completed the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) and Beck Depression Inventory-II as part of the clinical intake process. Responses to the AMT were coded for disorder-specific content based on diagnostic criteria for each disorder as well as for schema-relevant (sociotropy vs. autonomy) content. A repeated measures multiple analysis of variance demonstrated significant differences in disorder-specific content, with patients in the MDD group reporting more depressotypic ABMs than those in the PDA group but not the SP group. Similarly, in the analysis of schema-relevant content, significant differences were found between MDD and PDA regarding the presence of autonomy-based ABM ratings. Study results provide partial support for the cognitive specificity hypothesis with ABM content. The results are discussed in relation to the cognitive models of depression and anxiety.

The Complex Role of Mental Time Travel in Depressive and Anxiety Disorders: An Ensemble Perspective

“…Loss events, on the other hand, were more frequently remembered by participants with depression (65%) compared with anxiety (15%). Comparable findings for autobiographical recall have been reported by Witheridge et al (2010).…”

“…Or they can be observed with implicit memory tests but not explicit tests of recall or recognition ( Mathews et al, 1989 ; MacLeod and McLaughlin, 1995 ). They might also be observed when people are asked to recall autobiographical events of personal relevance ( Finlay-Jones and Brown, 1981 ; Witheridge et al, 2010 ) but not when they are asked to remember word lists that contain some threatening versus neutral words ( Levy and Mineka, 1998 ).…”

Oxytocin and enhancement of the positive valence of social affiliation memories: An autobiographical memory study

“…Participants were not interrupted during autobiographical memory recall, and the experimenter was instructed to behave in a natural, professional manner. The cue words were counterbalanced for valence (positive, neutral, negative), and three sets of 15 words selected from past studies using the AMT were used across experimental sessions (Birch & Davidson, 2007;Raes et al, 2006;Williams & Broadbent, 1986;Witheridge, Cabral, & Rector, 2010).…”

Negative autobiographical memories in social anxiety disorder: A comparison with panic disorder and healthy controls

“…This pattern was not found for SAD and SAD-related thoughts. Finally, a study by Witheridge, Cabral, and Rector (2010) investigated cued autobiographical memory content in individuals with SAD, PD, and major depressive disorder. The SAD group did not report more social evaluation memory content than the depressed or PD group and no overall between-group differences in cognitive vulnerability characteristics were observed.…”