Autobiographical memory retrieval and appraisal in social anxiety disorder

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

2018-08-01

Authors

Moscovitch, David A.
Vidovic, Vanja
Lenton-Brym, Ariella P.
Dupasquier, Jessica R.
Barber, Kevin C.
Hudd, Taylor
Zabara, Nick
Romano, Mia

Advisor

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier

Abstract

Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SADs; n = 41) and healthy controls (HCs; n = 40) were administered the Waterloo Images and Memories Interview, in which they described mental images that they tend to experience in both anxiety-provoking and non-anxiety-provoking social situations. Participants then recalled, in as much detail as possible, specific autobiographical memories of salient aversive and non-aversive social experiences that they believed led to the formation of these images. Audio-recorded memory narratives were transcribed and coded based on the procedure of the Autobiographical Interview, which provides a precise measure of the degree of episodic detail contained within each memory. Participants also rated the subjective properties of their recalled memories. Results revealed that participants across the two groups retrieved equivalent rates of both aversive and non-aversive social memories. However, SAD participants' memories of aversive events contained significantly more episodic detail than those of HCs, suggesting that they may be more highly accessible. Moreover, participants with SAD appraised their memories of aversive experiences as more distressing and intrusive than HCs, and perceived them as having a significantly greater influence on their self-perception. In contrast, no group differences were observed for memories of non-aversive events. Findings have the potential to shed new light on autobiographical memory in SAD, with implications for psychotherapeutic intervention.

Description

The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2018.06.008 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Keywords

Autobiographical memory, Episodic, Mental imagery, Semantic, Social anxiety, Specificity

LC Subject Headings

Citation