Hostname: page-component-f554764f5-qhdkw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-21T00:14:12.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Overgeneral and specific autobiographical memory predict the course of depression: an updated meta-analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2021

D. J. Hallford Open the ORCID record for D. J. Hallford [Opens in a new window] ,
D. Rusanov ,
J. J. E. Yeow  and
T. J. Barry
D. J. Hallford*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Melbourne, Australia
D. Rusanov
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Melbourne, Australia
J. J. E. Yeow
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Melbourne, Australia
T. J. Barry
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
*
Author for correspondence: D. J. Hallford, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Impairments in retrieving event-level, specific autobiographical memories, termed overgeneral memory (OGM), are recognised as a feature of clinical depression. A previous meta-analytic review assessing how OGM predicts the course of subsequent depressive symptoms showed small effects for correlations and regression analyses when baseline depressive symptoms were controlled for. We aimed to update this study and examine whether their findings replicate given the decade of research that has been published since. A systematic literature review using the same eligibility criteria as the previous meta-analysis led to a doubling of eligible studies (32 v. 15). The results provided more precise estimates of effect sizes, and largely support the finding that OGM predicts the course of depressive symptoms. The effects were generally small, but significantly larger among clinical samples, compared to studies with non-clinical samples. There was some evidence that higher age was associated with stronger effects, and longer follow-up was associated with weaker effects. The findings on other moderating variables that were analysed were mixed. Continued research into this modifiable cognitive process may help to provide an avenue to better understand and treat highly prevalent and impactful depressive disorders.

Keywords

Autobiographical memory specificitycourse of depressiondepressionmeta-analysisovergeneral memory
Type
Review Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 51 , Issue 6 , April 2021 , pp. 909 - 926
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Anderson, R., Goddard, L., & Powell, J. (2010). Reduced specificity of autobiographical memory as a moderator of the relationship between daily hassles and depression. Cognition & Emotion, 24(4), 702–709. doi: 10.1080/02699930802598029CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Askelund, A., Schweizer, S., Goodyer, I., & van Harmelen, A. (2019). Author correction: Positive memory specificity is associated with reduced vulnerability to depression. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(7), 758–758. doi: 10.1038/s41562-019-0633-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barry, T. J., Gregory, J. D., Latorre, J. M., Ros, L., Nieto, M., & Ricarte, J. J. (2020a). A multi-method comparison of autobiographical memory impairments amongst younger and older adults. Aging and Mental Health, 0(0), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2020.1729338Google Scholar
Barry, T., Hallford, D. J., & Takano, K. (2020b). Autobiographical memory impairments as a transdiagnostic feature of mental illness: A meta-analysis of autobiographical memory specificity and overgenerality amongst people with psychiatric diagnoses. Preprint. 10.31234/osf.io/ab5cu.10.31234/osf.io/ab5cuCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barry, T. J., Sze, W. Y., & Raes, F. (2019a). A meta-analysis and systematic review of Memory Specificity Training (MeST) in the treatment of emotional disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 116, 36–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2019.02.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barry, T. J., Vinograd, M., Boddez, Y., Raes, F., Zinbarg, R., Mineka, S., & Craske, M. G. (2019b). Reduced autobiographical memory specificity affects general distress through poor social support. Memory (Hove, England), 27(7), 916–923. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2019.1607876CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borenstein, M., Hedges, L., Higgins, J., & Rothstein, H. (2013). Comprehensive meta-analysis (version 3). Englewood, NJ: Biostat Inc.Google Scholar
Brewin, C., Reynolds, M., & Tata, P. (1999). Autobiographical memory processes and the course of depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108(3), 511–517. doi: 10.1037/0021-843x.108.3.511CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brewin, C., Watson, M., McCarthy, S., Hyman, P., & Dayson, D. (1998). Memory processes and the course of anxiety and depression in cancer patients. Psychological Medicine, 28(1), 219–224. doi: 10.1017/s0033291797006028CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brittlebank, A., Scott, J., Mark, J., Williams, G., & Ferrier, I. (1993). Autobiographical memory in depression: State or trait marker? British Journal of Psychiatry, 162(1), 118–121. doi: 10.1192/bjp.162.1.118CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chiu, C. P., Griffith, J. W., Lenaert, B., Raes, F., Hermans, D., & Barry, T. J. (2018). Meta-analysis of the association between rumination and reduced autobiographical memory specificity. Memory (Hove, England), 26(10), 1323–1334. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2018.1474928CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dalgleish, T., Spinks, H., Yiend, J., & Kuyken, W. (2001). Autobiographical memory style in seasonal affective disorder and its relationship to future symptom remission. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110(2), 335–340. doi: 10.1037/0021-843x.110.2.335CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalgleish, T., & Werner-Seidler, A. (2014). Disruptions in autobiographical memory processing in depression and the emergence of memory therapeutics. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18(11), 596–604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2014.06.010CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Debeer, E., Raes, F., & Hermans, D. [Overgeneral autobiographical memory as a predictor of depressive symptoms and clinical depression in a college sample]. 2008 Unpublished raw data.Google Scholar
Duval, S, & Tweedie, R. (2000). Trim and fill: A simple funnel-plot–based method of testing and adjusting for publication bias in meta-analysis. Biometrics, 56(2), 455–463.10.1111/j.0006-341X.2000.00455.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibbs, B., & Rude, S. (2004). Overgeneral autobiographical memory as depression vulnerability. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28(4), 511–526. doi: 10.1023/b:cotr.0000045561.72997.7cCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffith, J. W., Sumner, J. A., Debeer, E., Raes, F., Hermans, D., Mineka, S., … Craske, M. G. (2009). An item response theory/confirmatory factor analysis of the Autobiographical Memory Test. Memory, 17(6), 609–623.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gutenbrunner, C., Salmon, K., & Jose, P. (2017). Do overgeneral autobiographical memories predict increased psychopathological symptoms in community youth? A 3-year longitudinal investigation. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46(2), 197–208. doi: 10.1007/s10802-017-0278-5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hallford, D. J., Austin, D. W., Takano, K., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., & Raes, F. (2020a). Computerised Memory Specificity Training (c-MeST) for major depression: A randomised controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 136, 103783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2020.103783.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hallford, D. J., Austin, D. W., Takano, K., & Raes, F. (2018). Psychopathology and episodic future thinking: A systematic review and meta-analysis of specificity and episodic detail. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 102, 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2018.01.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hallford, D. J., Barry, T. J., Austin, D. W., Raes, F., Takano, K., & Klein, B. (2020b). Impairments in episodic future thinking for positive events and anticipatory pleasure in major depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 260, 536–543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.09.039CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hallford, D. J., Carmichael, A. M., Austin, D. W., Takano, K., Raes, F., & Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M. (2020c). A study protocol for a randomised trial of adjunct computerised memory specificity training (c-MeST) for major depression in youth: Targeting cognitive mechanisms to enhance usual care outcomes in mental health settings. Trials, 21(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-019-4036-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamlat, E., Connolly, S., Hamilton, J., Stange, J., Abramson, L., & Alloy, L. (2014). Rumination and overgeneral autobiographical memory in adolescents: An integration of cognitive vulnerabilities to depression. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(4), 806–818. doi: 10.1007/s10964-014-0090-2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hauer, B., Wessel, I., Engelhard, I., Peeters, L., & Dalgleish, T. (2009). Prepartum autobiographical memory specificity predicts post-traumatic stress symptoms following complicated pregnancy. Memory (Hove, England), 17(5), 544–556. doi: 10.1080/09658210902953836CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hedges, L.V. (2007). Meta-analysis. In Rao, C.R. & Sinharay, S. (Eds.), The handbook of statistics. (Vol. 26, pp. 919–953). Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Heron, J., Crane, C., Gunnell, D., Lewis, G., Evans, J., & Williams, J. M. G. (2012). 40000 Memories in young teenagers: Psychometric properties of the autobiographical memory test in a UK cohort study. Memory (Hove, England), 20(3), 300–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2012.656846CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higgins, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). Quantifying heterogeneity in a meta-analysis. Statistics in Medicine, 21(11), 1539–1558. doi: 10.1002/sim.1186CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Higgins, J. P., Thompson, S. G., Deeks, J. J., & Altman, D. G. (2003). Measuring inconsistency in meta-analyses. BMJ, 327(7414), 557–560. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.327.7414.557CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hipwell, A., Reynolds, S., & Pitts Crick, E. (2004). Cognitive vulnerability to postnatal depressive symptomatology. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 22(3), 211–227. doi: 10.1080/02646830410001723797CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hipwell, A., Sapotichne, B., Klostermann, S., Battista, D., & Keenan, K. (2011). Autobiographical memory as a predictor of depression vulnerability in girls. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40(2), 254–265. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2011.546037CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hitchcock, C., Nixon, R. D., & Weber, N. (2014). A review of overgeneral memory in child psychopathology. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53(2), 170–193. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.12034CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, R. J. (2006) Dissertation Abstracts International. Vol. 66. 2006. A short-term longitudinal study of the relations among depression, stressful life events, and autobiographical memory; p. 6276 (Doctoral dissertation, University of Kansas, 2005).Google Scholar
Kleim, B., & Ehlers, A. (2008). Reduced autobiographical memory specificity predicts depression and posttraumatic stress disorder after recent trauma. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(2), 231–242. doi: 10.1037/0022-006x.76.2.231CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kremers, I. P., Spinhoven, P., Van der Does, A. J. W., & Van Dyck, R. (2006). Autobiographical memory in depressed and nondepressed patients with borderline personality disorder after long-term psychotherapy. Cognition and Emotion, 20(3–4), 448–465. doi: 10.1080/02699930500342662Google Scholar
Lipsey, M. W., & Wilson, D. B. (2001). Practical meta-analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Liu, X., Li, L., Xiao, J., Yang, J., & Jiang, X. (2013). Abnormalities of autobiographical memory of patients with depressive disorders: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 86(4), 353–373. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8341.2012.02077.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, Y., Zhang, F., Wang, Z., Cao, L., Wang, J., Na, A., … Zhao, X. (2016). Overgeneral autobiographical memory at baseline predicts depressive symptoms at follow-up in patients with first-episode depression. Psychiatry Research, 243, 123–127. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.06.029CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mackinger, H., Leibetseder, M., Kunz-Dorfer, A., Fartacek, R., Whitworth, A., & Feldinger, F. (2004). Autobiographical memory predicts the course of depression during detoxification therapy in alcohol dependent men. Journal of Affective Disorders, 78(1), 61–65. doi: 10.1016/s0165-0327(02)00181-7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mackinger, H., Loschin, G., & Leibetseder, M. (2000). Prediction of postnatal affective changes by autobiographical memories. European Psychologist, 5(1), 52–61. doi: 10.1027//1016-9040.5.1.52CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martens, K., Barry, T. J., Takano, K., Onghena, P., & Raes, F. (2019a). Efficacy of online memory specificity training in adults with a history of depression, using a multiple baseline across participants design. Internet Interventions, 18, 100259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martens, K., Takano, K., Barry, T. J., Goedleven, J., Van den Meutter, L., & Raes, F. (2019b). Remediating reduced autobiographical memory in healthy older adults with the computerized memory specificity training (c-MeST): A preliminary investigation. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(5), e13333. https://doi.org/10.2196/13333CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peeters, F., Wessel, I., Merckelbach, H., & Boon-Vermeeren, M. (2002). Autobiographical memory specificity and the course of major depressive disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 43(5), 344–350. doi: 10.1053/comp.2002.34635CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Popovski, M., & Bates, G. W. (2005). Autobiographical memory and dysphoria: The effect of mood, gender, and cue type on generality and latency. North American Journal of Psychology, 7(3), 505–518.Google Scholar
Puetz, V. B., Viding, E., Hoffmann, F., Gerin, M. I., Sharp, M., Rankin, G., … McCrory, E. J. (2020). Autobiographical memory as a latent vulnerability mechanism following childhood maltreatment: Association with future depression symptoms and prosocial behavior. Development and Psychopathology, 1–8. doi: 10.1017/S0954579420000504Google Scholar
Raes, F., Hermans, D., Williams, J., Beyers, W., Eelen, P., & Brunfaut, E. (2006). Reduced autobiographical memory specificity and rumination in predicting the course of depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(4), 699–704. doi: 10.1037/0021-843x.115.4.699CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raes, F., Sienaert, P., Demyttenaere, K., Peuskens, J., Williams, J., & Hermans, D. (2008). Overgeneral memory predicts stability of short-term outcome of electroconvulsive therapy for depression. The Journal of ECT, 24(1), 81–83. doi: 10.1097/yct.0b013e31814da995CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raes, F., Williams, J. M. G., & Hermans, D. (2009). Reducing cognitive vulnerability to depression: A preliminary investigation of MEmory Specificity Training (MEST) in inpatients with depressive symptomatology. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 40(1), 24–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2008.03.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rawal, A., & Rice, F. (2012). Examining overgeneral autobiographical memory as a risk factor for adolescent depression. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(5), 518–527. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2012.02.025CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ros, L., Ricarte, J. J., Serrano, J. P., Nieto, M., Aguilar, M. J., & Latorre, J. M. (2014). Overgeneral autobiographical memories: Gender differences in depression. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28(4), 472–480. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3013CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schacter, D. L., Addis, D. R., & Buckner, R. L. (2007). Remembering the past to imagine the future: The prospective brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8(9), 657–661. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2213CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stange, J., Hamlat, E., Hamilton, J., Abramson, L., & Alloy, L. (2013). Overgeneral autobiographical memory, emotional maltreatment, and depressive symptoms in adolescence: Evidence of a cognitive vulnerability–stress interaction. Journal of Adolescence, 36(1), 201–208. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.11.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sumner, J. A. (2012). The mechanisms underlying overgeneral autobiographical memory: An evaluative review of evidence for the CaR-FA-X model. Clinical Psychology Review, 32(1), 34–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.10.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sumner, J., Griffith, J., & Mineka, S. (2010). Overgeneral autobiographical memory as a predictor of the course of depression: A meta-analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48(7), 614–625. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2010.03.013CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sumner, J., Mineka, S., & McAdams, D. (2013). Specificity in autobiographical memory narratives correlates with performance on the autobiographical memory test and prospectively predicts depressive symptoms. Memory (Hove, England), 21(6), 646–656. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2012.746372CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Daele, T., Griffith, J., Van den Bergh, O., & Hermans, D. (2014). Overgeneral autobiographical memory predicts changes in depression in a community sample. Cognition and Emotion, 28(7), 1303–1312. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2013.879052CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van den Broeck, K., Pieters, G., Claes, L., Berens, A., & Raes, F. (2015). Overgeneral autobiographical memory predicts higher prospective levels of depressive symptoms and intrusions in borderline patients. Memory (Hove, England), 24(10), 1302–1310. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2015.1102938CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Vreeswijk, M. F., & de Wilde, E. J. (2004). Autobiographical memory specificity, psychopathology, depressed mood, and the use of the autobiographical memory test: A meta-analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 731–743. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00194-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warne, N., Caseras, X., & Rice, F. (2020). The cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between overgeneral autobiographical memory and adolescent depression in a UK population-based cohort. Journal of Affective Disorders, 266, 621–625. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.02.011Google Scholar
Warne, N., Collishaw, S., & Rice, F. (2018). Examining the relationship between stressful life events and overgeneral autobiographical memory in adolescents at high familial risk of depression. Memory (Hove, England), 27(3), 314–327. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1508591CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whiteford, H. A., Harris, M. G., McKeon, G., Baxter, A., Pennell, C., Barendregt, J. J., & Wang, J. (2013). Estimating remission from untreated major depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 43(8), 1569–1585. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291712001717CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, J. M. G., Barnhofer, T., Crane, C., Herman, D., Raes, F., Watkins, E., … Dalgleish, T. (2007). Autobiographical memory specificity and emotional disorder. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.122CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, J. M., & Broadbent, K. (1986). Autobiographical memory in suicide attempters. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(2), 144. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0021-843x.95.2.144CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, F. C. L., & Gregory, J. D. (2018). Overgeneral autobiographical memory and depression in older adults: A systematic review. Aging & Mental health, 22(5), 575–586. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2017.1326461CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yanes, P., Morse, G., Hsiao, C., Simms, L., & Roberts, J. (2012). Autobiographical memory specificity and the persistence of depressive symptoms in HIV-positive patients: Rumination and social problem-solving skills as mediators. Cognition & Emotion, 26(8), 1496–1507. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2012.665028CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, K. D., Bodurka, J., & Drevets, W. C. (2017). Functional neuroimaging of sex differences in autobiographical memory recall in depression. Psychological Medicine, 47(15), 2640–2652. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329171700112XCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed