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Do Overgeneral Autobiographical Memories Predict Increased Psychopathological Symptoms in Community Youth? A 3-Year Longitudinal Investigation

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Abstract

Research suggests that an overgeneral autobiographical memory style (i.e., retrieval of general memories when instructed to retrieve a specific episodic memory) represents a vulnerability marker for depression. Although adolescence is a period of high risk for the emergence of depression, little research has investigated the associations among overgeneral memory, psychopathology, and risk factors longitudinally in a community sample in this age group. We, therefore, investigated overgeneral memory, psychopathology (depression and anxiety), and rumination (an established risk factor for psychopathology) longitudinally in 269 typically-developing youth (125 females, 144 males) across 3 annual assessment points. We sought to determine whether 1) overgeneral memory would predict psychopathology across the entire sample, and 2) whether associations would vary as a function of longitudinal rumination growth. Across the entire sample, overgeneral memory did not predict psychopathology. For youth who reported elevated, and increasing, patterns of rumination over time, transient relationships between overgeneral memory and subsequent increases in anxiety were found. We conclude that overgeneral memory may represent a vulnerability marker for adverse psychological outcomes only for youth at risk for psychopathology.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the schools and students who participated in this study. We also thank research assistants Rebecca Edwards, Ruth Glynn, and Samuel Knight, and the many students who assisted with data collection and management, and who contributed to discussions of the ideas in this paper.

This research was funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund (VUW1308), awarded to Karen Salmon and Paul Jose, and associate investigators Richard Bryant, Robyn Fivush and Elaine Reese.

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  1. School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Charlotte Gutenbrunner, Karen Salmon & Paul E. Jose

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  1. Charlotte Gutenbrunner
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  2. Karen Salmon
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Correspondence to Charlotte Gutenbrunner.

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Gutenbrunner, C., Salmon, K. & Jose, P.E. Do Overgeneral Autobiographical Memories Predict Increased Psychopathological Symptoms in Community Youth? A 3-Year Longitudinal Investigation. J Abnorm Child Psychol 46, 197–208 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-017-0278-5

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