Zoellner, LoriPeConga, Emma2023-01-212023-01-212022PeConga_washington_0250O_25113.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/49755Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2022Background: Cognitive models of mental disorders suggest that memory processing deficits, such as overgeneral and inconsistent memory, play a role in the etiology of depression (Williams et al., 2007) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Moore & Zoellner, 2007). However, despite inconsistencies in vividness and emotional detail fluctuating with psychopathology, researchers have noted that general plot of trauma memories may remain similar (Dekel et al., 2013). However, no coding system has been developed to assess the stability of plot points over time. This prospective longitudinal study examined the relationship between PTSD, depression, overgeneral memory (OGM) and a novel measure of a memory consistency. Method: Seventy female undergraduates were part of an online study in which they completed the Autobiographical Memory Task (AMT; Williams & Broadbent, 1986) and measures of posttraumatic stress (PTSD; PDS-5; Foa et al., 2016) and depression symptoms (QIDS-SR; Rush et al., 2003). They also completed a novel narrative consistency task in which they wrote about one “extremely negative” and one “extremely positive” experience within the last year at baseline and 1- month follow-up. We hypothesized that higher PTSD and depression symptoms would predict higher OGM and lower narrative consistency. Results: The novel narrative consistency task was associated with other commonly used measures of consistency and showed small to no correlation with OGM. Accordingly, this study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of this novel task and suggests that memory consistency operates separately from OGM. As predicted, higher PTSD and depression symptom severity predicted more overgeneral autobiographical memory at baseline and 1-month follow-up (Baseline: β = -.27, p = .04; 1-month: β = -.33, p = .02). However, higher PTSD symptomology (β = .47, p = .05), driven by the avoidance symptoms (β = .61, p = .01), predicted higher negative consistency but not positive narrative consistency across the two time points. Discussion: While this study confirms theories that PTSD and depression are characterized by overgeneral memory processing style (see Williams, 2007) individuals with higher PTSD severity actually had more consistent memories of negative events. These results are discussed in light of the dynamic retrieval model (Marks et al., 2018) in which retrieval of trauma memory via re-experiencing renders some aspects more likely and other aspects less likely to be retrieved or forgotten. Thus, while details fluctuate in events that are perseverated on, the general story may be rendered even more consistent.application/pdfen-USnonePsychologyPsychologyThesis