Autobiographical memory and dissociation in borderline personality disorder

Background. This study investigated whether individuals with borderline per sonality disorder (BPD) tend to be overgeneral in their autobiographical re call and whether the extent of their overgeneral recall covaries with their susceptibilities to dissociative experiences, as expected on theoretical g rounds. Methods. Twenty-three patients with BPD and 23 matched controls completed t he Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) and self-report measures of depressio n, anxiety, trait anger and dissociative experiences. Results. Participants with BPD scored significantly higher than the control group on the measures of depression, anxiety, trait anger, and dissociativ e experiences and also retrieved significantly more general memories on the AMT. The number of general memories retrieved by the BPD group correlated significantly with their dissociation scores but not with their scores on m ood measures. Conclusions. Patients with BPD have difficulties in recalling specific auto biographical memories. These difficulties are related to their tendency to dissociate and may help them to avoid episodic information that would evoke acutely negative affect.