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Biomedical subjects

An de Decker

Publications and source records attributed to An de Decker.

2 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Autobiographical memory specificity and affect regulation: an experimental approach.

This study investigated J. M. G. Williams's (1996) affect-regulation hypothesis that level of specificity of autobiographical memory (AM) is used to minimize negative affect. It was found that a negative event leads to more reports of subjective stress in high- as compared with low-specific participants. Also, afterward, high-specific participants rated their unprompted memories for the event as more unpleasant. The results indicate that, relative to high specificity, being less specific in the retrieval of AMs is associated with less affective impact of a negative event. Results are discussed within the affect-regulation model. It is suggested that future research take a more functional perspective on AM specificity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Autobiographical memory specificity and trauma in inpatient adolescents.

Investigated the relation between memory specificity and self-reported trauma, depressive symptoms, and other emotional characteristics in a group of adolescent inpatients. Research with adults has shown that clinical depression is associated with a difficulty in retrieving specific autobiographical memories in response to cue words, and this pattern of overgeneral memory is related to the prognosis of depression. Research has also shown a clear positive association between self-reported trauma and overgeneral memory. This study's results showed that higher levels of trauma--both in terms of total number and in terms of severity or related distress--were associated with reduced autobiographical memory specificity (AM). None of the other emotional variables, such as depression, anxiety, worry, hopelessness, or subjective stress, were significantly related to the retrieval of specific memories. The results are reconcilable with Williams' (1996) developmental idea that a pattern of overgeneral AM retrieval originates in childhood trauma as a way of regulating affect.

Adolescent↗