Correlates of autobiographical memory specificity: the role of depression,anxiety and childhood trauma

The present study examined the role of childhood trauma, major depressive d isorder (MDD), and anxiety disorder (AD) in overgeneral autobiographical me mory. Ninety-three outpatients and 24 healthy controls completed a childhoo d trauma questionnaire and an autobiographical memory test (AMT), Results s howed that MDD diagnosis rather than trauma history predicted AMT-performan ce. Memory specificity was not related to AD diagnosis, recovered MDD, or s elf-rated depression severity. The present findings cast doubts on theories that emphasize the role of childhood trauma in overgeneral autobiographica l memory. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.