Reduced autobiographical memory specificity as a mediating factor between general anxiety symptoms and performance on problem‐solving tasks

Hallford, David John; Noory, Narian; Mellor, David

doi:10.1002/acp.3428

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…It is of note that, among these included studies, the within-group effect size for the Anxiety Disorder diagnostic category was not statistically significant. This finding contrasts with studies in community samples that indicate that trait and state levels of general anxiety are correlated with rAMS (Hallford, Noory, et al, 2018; Hallford & Mellor, 2017; Hallford et al, 2019). Our finding may be explained by the small sample size and heterogeneity between diagnoses included within this category.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Autobiographical memory impairments as a transdiagnostic feature of mental illness: A meta-analytic review of investigations into autobiographical memory specificity and overgenerality among people with psychiatric diagnoses.

Barry¹,

Hallford²,

Takano³

2021

Psychological Bulletin

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Decades of research has examined the difficulty that people with psychiatric diagnoses have in recalling specific autobiographical memories of events that lasted less than a day. Instead, they seem to retrieve general events that have occurred many times or which occurred over longer periods of time, termed overgeneral memory. We present the first transdiagnostic meta-analysis of memory specificity/overgenerality and the first meta-regression of proposed causal mechanisms. A keyword search of Embase, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO databases yielded 74 studies that compared people with and without psychiatric diagnoses on the retrieval of specific (k = 85) or general memories (k = 56). The majority of studies included participants with Major Depressive Disorder (∼49%), Schizophrenia (∼19%), and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (∼17%) with few studies involving other groups of participants, for example, Anxiety Disorders (∼5%). Multilevel meta-analysis confirmed that people with psychiatric diagnoses typically recall fewer specific, g = −0.864, 95% CI [−1.030, −0.698], and more general, g = 712, 95% CI [0.524, 0.900], memories than diagnoses-free people. The size of these effects did not differ between diagnostic groups. There were no consistent moderators of effect size heterogeneity; effect sizes were not explained by methodological factors such as cue valence or demographic variables such as participants' age or between-group differences in process variables (e.g., rumination). Deficits in autobiographical memory retrieval may be a transdiagnostic factor, but further research in underrepresented diagnostic groups, and with novel experimental manipulations of encoding and retrieval processes, is warranted before full transdiagnosticity and the processes underlying reduced specificity/overgenerality can be established. Public Significance StatementThe data presented here show that people with a range of psychiatric diagnoses experience difficulty retrieving memories of specific autobiographical events from their past. Instead, people with diagnoses tend to retrieve memories of general events that have occurred on multiple occasions or which occur over an extended period of time. These findings indicate a specific cognitive target for intervention in psychiatric problems, especially given that existing treatments do not typically help people in this way. These findings also contribute to a growing body of literature that indicates similarities in cognitive deficits that cut across discrete psychiatric diagnoses.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Autobiographical memory impairments as a transdiagnostic feature of mental illness: A meta-analytic review of investigations into autobiographical memory specificity and overgenerality among people with psychiatric diagnoses.

Barry¹,

Hallford²,

Takano³

2021

Psychological Bulletin

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“…Lastly, 10% of MEPS solutions were coded by a second rater for inter-rater reliability assessment, consistent with past studies (e.g. Glazebrook et al, 2015;Hallford et al, 2018). Future research should consider estimating reliability using a larger number of participants for greater precision.…”

Section: And Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Interpersonal dysfunction in individuals high in chronic worry: relations with interpersonal problem-solving

Malivoire

Koerner

2021

Behav. Cogn. Psychother.

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Background: Interpersonal dysfunction has been proposed as an important maintenance factor in chronic worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Perceptions of problems and the problem-solving process as threatening, and unhelpful (e.g. avoidant, impulsive) problem-solving styles are implicated in worry and have also been suggested to be associated with dysfunctional interpersonal styles. Aims: The present study assessed the relationships between interpersonal dysfunction and problem-solving orientation, approach, and effectiveness in a sample of individuals high in chronic worry and investigated the indirect effect of interpersonal dysfunction on GAD symptom severity through negative problem-solving beliefs and approaches. Method: Fifty-nine community participants completed questionnaires and an interpersonal problem-solving task. Results: Greater interpersonal dysfunction was significantly associated with greater negative problem-solving orientation and greater habitual avoidant and impulsive/careless problem-solving styles. Greater interpersonal dysfunction was associated with poorer effectiveness of solutions when the task problem involved conflict with a romantic partner. Negative problem-solving orientation fully mediated the relationship between interpersonal dysfunction and GAD symptoms. Conclusions: These findings support that problem-solving processes are implicated in interpersonal dysfunction and that negative beliefs about problem-solving account for the relationship between interpersonal dysfunction and GAD symptoms. Theoretical implications are discussed.

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Section: Overgeneral Autobiographical Memory (Ogm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many studies have attempted to clarify whether increased OGM was in relation to anxiety disorder, however, the findings were less consistent [22,29,30]. Studies on general anxiety disorder (GAD) indicated that individuals with GAD displayed difficulty in retrieving specific autobiographical memories [29][30][31]. In contrast, some studies on social anxiety [32][33][34] and specific phobias [35] have demonstrated that there is no notable relationship between anxiety and specific autobiographical memories.…”

Section: Overgeneral Autobiographical Memory (Ogm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Moderating role of overgeneral autobiographical memory in the relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and state anxiety

Liang¹,

Yu²,

Xiang³

et al. 2022

Stress and Brain

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Background: Though previous studies have investigated the roles of dysfunctional attitudes and overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) in depression, a few have focused on the relationships among dysfunctional attitudes, OGM, and anxiety. Moreover, the moderating role of OGM has received limited scholarly attention. Aims: This study investigated the relationships among dysfunctional attitudes, OGM, and anxiety, as well as the moderating role of OGM in the relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and state anxiety, in a sample of college students. Method: The sample consisted of 209 nonclinical college students aged between 17 and 23 years (mean age = 19.61 years; females: 76%). The study assessed dysfunctional attitudes and state anxiety using selfreport questionnaires, and evaluated OGM using the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT). Results:The results indicate that dysfunctional attitudes are risk factors of state anxiety and that OGM moderates the relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and state anxiety. Furthermore, we found that an increase in dysfunctional attitudes is associated with high levels of state anxiety in individuals who have low levels of OGM. Conclusions: OGM may act as an affect-regulation strategy, and thus may buffer the negative effect of dysfunctional attitudes on state anxiety.

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Reduced autobiographical memory specificity as a mediating factor between general anxiety symptoms and performance on problem‐solving tasks

Cited by 14 publications

References 50 publications

Autobiographical memory impairments as a transdiagnostic feature of mental illness: A meta-analytic review of investigations into autobiographical memory specificity and overgenerality among people with psychiatric diagnoses.

Autobiographical memory impairments as a transdiagnostic feature of mental illness: A meta-analytic review of investigations into autobiographical memory specificity and overgenerality among people with psychiatric diagnoses.

Interpersonal dysfunction in individuals high in chronic worry: relations with interpersonal problem-solving

Moderating role of overgeneral autobiographical memory in the relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and state anxiety

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