Intrusions, avoidance and overgeneral memory in a non‐clinical sample
Beatrijs J. A. Hauera✉, Ineke Wesselb c, Harald L. G. J. Merckelbacha d
- aMaastricht University, The Netherlands
- bUniversity of Groningen, The Netherlands
- cUniversity of Groningen (The Netherlands )
- dMaastricht University , The Netherlands
- ✉Corresponding author
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Abstract
Abstract Previous studies have shown a positive relationship between intrusions, effortful avoidance and overgeneral memory in people suffering from (mild) depression or PTSD. The purpose of the present study was to investigate these relationships in a non‐clinical sample. As part of a mass testing session, a written version of the Autobiographical Memory Test was administered to 175 first‐year psychology students. Furthermore, intrusion and avoidance symptoms were measured with the Impact of Event Scale (Horowitz, Wilner, & Alvarez, 1979), and depressive symptoms with the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961). The data demonstrated a significant correlation between avoidance symptoms and categoric memory to negative cue words. This relationship remained significant after controlling for depressive symptoms. These results concur with other findings that overgeneral memory tends to be related to symptoms of effortful avoidance. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.