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Autobiographical memory specificity, intrusive memory, and general memory skills in Dutch–Indonesian survivors of the World War II Era
Author(s) -
Wessel Ineke,
Merckelbach Harald,
Dekkers Theo
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1023/a:1015207428675
Subject(s) - autobiographical memory , psychology , childhood memory , indonesian , neuropsychology , episodic memory , developmental psychology , psychiatry , clinical psychology , cognition , linguistics , philosophy
A lack of specific autobiographical memory may result from exposure to psychoiogical trauma, intrusive memories of adverse events, and/or a general memory deficit. This study explored the role of these variables in 25 patients with various psychiatric diagnoses and 15 healthy controls. All participants had been exposed to war atrocities during their childhood in Indonesia. Patients produced significantly less specific memories than did controls. In addition, rather than performance on general neuropsychological memory tests, the frequent occurrence of intrusive memories and the avoidance of reminders of trauma predicted less autobiographical memory specificity. These result‐ replicate and extend earlier findings on intrusive and nonspecific autobiographical memory in depressed samples to a group of people who experienced war atrocities in childhood.