Cited by 37Identity, Memory, and TherapyPsychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsMemory Processes and Influences

Autobiographical memory specificity in dissociative identity disorder

Open access
Huntjens, Rafaële J. C., Wessel, Ineke, Hermans, Dirk, van Minnen, Agnes·2014·Journal of Abnormal Psychology

Abstract

A lack of adequate access to autobiographical knowledge has been related to psychopathology. More specifically, patients suffering from depression or a history of trauma have been found to be characterized by overgeneral memory, in other words, they show a relative difficulty in retrieving a specific event from memory located in time and place. Previous studies of overgeneral memory have not included patients with dissociative disorders. These patients are interesting to consider, as they are hypothesized to have the ability to selectively compartmentalize information linked to negative emotions. This study examined avoidance and overgeneral memory in patients with dissociative identity disorder (DID; n = 12). The patients completed the autobiographical memory test (AMT). Their performance was compared with control groups of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients (n = 26), healthy controls (n = 29), and DID simulators (n = 26). Specifically, we compared the performance of separate identity states in DID hypothesized to diverge in the use of avoidance as a coping strategy to deal with negative affect. No significant differences in memory specificity were found between the separate identities in DID. Irrespective of identity state, DID patients were characterized by a lack of memory specificity, which was similar to the lack of memory specificity found in PTSD patients. The converging results for DID and PTSD patients add empirical evidence for the role of overgeneral memory involved in the maintenance of posttraumatic psychopathology.

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Crossref · 10.1037/a0036624

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Authors
Huntjens, R. J. C., Wessel, I., Hermans, D., & van Minnen, A.
Affiliations
  • University of Groningen (NL)
  • KU Leuven (BE)
Venue
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Published
2014-05
Volume
123
Issue
2
Pages
419-428
ISSN
  • 0021-843X (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1846
OpenAlex
W2137650337
Cited by
37
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1
FWCI
3.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • Journal of Abnormal Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (451-05-018)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
Keywords
dissociative identity disorder, autobiographical memory, overgeneral memory, memory specificity, avoidance, post-traumatic stress disorder, identity states, trauma, negative affect, coping strategies
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Humans, Middle Aged, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Young Adult, Memory, Episodic

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