Autobiographical memory functioning among abused, neglected and nonmaltreated children: The overgeneral memory effect

Research on the relation of trauma to memory has yet to determine how the experience of trauma affects memory, if at all. Despite a proliferation of research focusing on recall of traumatic experiences, much less attention has been paid to the examination of memory processes for nontraumatic stimuli with traumatized individuals and to the conduct of research with maltreated children. Therefore, the current investigation addresses significant gaps in the literature to ascertain whether there are differences in the form and content of autobiographical memory recall as a function of maltreatment, and to examine what roles self-system functioning and psychopathology play in autobiographical memory processes among maltreated children. Autobiographical memory for positive and negative nontraumatic events was evaluated among abused, neglected, and nonmaltreated school-aged children using the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; Williams & Broadbent, 1986). In Part I of this investigation, a comprehensive analysis of children's autobiographical memory performance was conducted; this included assessment of children's ability to recall specific autobiographical memories, the number of prompts elicited from the interviewer, children's response latency and the length of their memories. Positive and negative self- and maternal-representations contained within children's memory narratives were also examined. Part II focused on overgeneral memory, a pattern of memory retrieval characterized by difficulty in recollecting specific autobiographical memories, and evaluated children's self-representations as well as children's depressive and dissociative symptomatology in relation to children's memory. Results revealed that abused children recalled more overgeneral memories and elicited more prompts from the interviewer to retrieve specific memories than did the neglected and the nonmaltreated children. Abused children's memory narratives also contained more negative self-representations than did those of the nonmaltreated children. Negative self-representations were significantly related to overgeneral memory, but did not mediate the relation between abuse and overgeneral memory. Abused children demonstrated more depressive and dissociative symptoms than did the nonmaltreated children; however, depressive and dissociative symptoms did not mediate the relation of abuse to overgeneral memory. The meaning of these findings for models of memory and for the development of overgenerality is emphasized. Moreover, the clinical implications of the current research are discussed.