Is remembering less specifically part of an avoidant coping style? Associations between memory specificity, avoidant coping, and stress

An experimental approach: Investigating the directive function of autobiographical memory

Why do we have autobiographical memory and how is it useful? Researchers have proposed a directive function; our experiences guide our behavior, particularly when faced with an open-ended problem. Two experiments (one between-participant and one mixed design) were therefore conducted to test whether success autobiographical memories - any experience when the participant felt successful and competent - are helpful for generating solutions to problem scenarios. One research aim was to experimentally test the directive function as current experimental evidence is limited and results are mixed. Consequently, it is unclear if and how autobiographical memory is helpful for open-ended problem solving. Another aim was to test whether self-efficacy is an important factor that supports open-ended problem solving and thus the directive function. Although success memories enhanced self-ratings of self-efficacy across both experiments, in samples of undergraduate students there was no experimental effect of success autobiographical memories on problem solving. Instead, some participants across the memory and control conditions in both experiments, even when not instructed, recalled autobiographical memories related to the problem scenarios presented in the problem-solving task, and these participants did better at problem solving than those who did not. This may hint to a directive function and is perhaps one reason why there is no experimental effect. Sample and experimental design differences are discussed as potential factors that may contribute to non-significant effects in this study but significant effects in others. Our results highlight the complexity of the directive function, and the difficulty of experimentally testing how autobiographical memory directs behavior.

Negative body image and avoidant retrieval of body-related autobiographical memories

People with a negative body image may be more likely to recall negative memories of their body, but also be motivated to avoid retrieving specific memories to prevent triggering aversive emotions (e.g., disgust). Such inclination to retain at a global level of memory recall may hamper the correction of their negative body image. In previous research using Autobiographical Memory Tests (AMTs) with minimal instructions, we failed to find an overgeneral memory bias specific to individuals with a negative body image but observed low specificity overall in response to body cue words. In the present study (N = 153), we included the traditional AMT next to a minimal instructions AMT and explored the idea that sensory reliving may be relevant to avoidance by assessing sensory reliving ratings next to memory specificity. A negative body image was associated with more negative body memories. In both AMTs, the findings failed to support our prediction that a more negative body image would be associated with lower specificity or sensory reliving. The findings are consistent with the view that autobiographical memories might be an important factor in defining one's body image, yet cast doubt on the relevance of avoidant retrieval of body-related memories in non-clinical samples.

Coping in Mid- to Late Life and Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment Subtypes and Dementia: A JPHC Saku Mental Health Study

BACKGROUND

The relationship between coping in mid- to late life and cognitive functions remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between habitual coping behaviors of a large Japanese population in their mid- to late-lives and their risk of cognitive decline 15 years later.

METHODS

Overall 1,299 participants were assessed for coping behaviors (in 2000) and cognition (2014-2015). We used the Stress and Coping Inventory to assess the frequency of six coping behaviors (i.e., consulting, planning, positive reappraisal, avoidance, fantasizing, and self-blame). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine odds ratios (ORs) for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), MCI subtypes (single- and multiple-domain MCI), and dementia for coping behaviors.

RESULTS

Among the eligible 1,015 participants (72.6 [SD = 5.5] years old in 2014-2015), the numbers for cognitively normal, single-domain MCI, multiple-domain MCI, and dementia were 650 (64.0%), 116 (11.4%), 213 (21.0%), and 36 (3.5%), respectively. Among the six coping behaviors, avoidant coping was significantly associated with noticeable cognitive decline (multiple-domain MCI and dementia). This association remained significant after adjusting for sex, age, education, diagnosis of current major depressive disorder, past history of ischemic heart disease, diabetes, regular alcohol consumption, and smoking (OR = 2.52, 95% CI = 1.23 to 5.15). No significant association with other coping behaviors was found.

CONCLUSION

Avoidant coping in mid- and late life is associated with cognitive decline among older people.

White matter diffusivity and its correlations to state measures of psychopathology in male refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heterogenous condition and the underlying neurobiology is still poorly understood. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that PTSD is associated with microstructural changes in white matter (WM) fibre tracts that connect regions involved in emotional processing, memory, attention, and language. Furthermore, we examined how different response patterns to individualized trauma-provoking stimuli related to underlying WM microstructure. Sixty-nine trauma-affected male refugees with PTSD (N = 38) or without PTSD (N = 31) underwent clinical assessments and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) of the whole brain at 3 Tesla. Diffusion tensor metrics were computed from DWI data and used to characterize regional white-matter microstructure. An automated tract segmentation method was used to extract diffusion tensor metrics from subject-based reconstructions of tract segments (ROI), including uncinate fasciculus (UF), cingulum bundle (CB), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) in three subdivisions (SLF I - III), and fibre bundles connecting orbito-frontal cortex to striatum (OF-ST). Outside the scanner we obtained measures of immediate (state) arousal, avoidance and dissociation symptoms assessed in response to auditory exposure to a personal traumatic memory. Using mean FA of the middle part of each ROI, mixed ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between group, ROI and hemisphere. Post-hoc comparisons showed that, relative to refugees without PTSD, refugees with PTSD had lower FA in right CB, left SLF-I, bilateral OF-ST and bilateral SLF-II. Mean FA scaled negatively with avoidance in right CB while mean FA in bilateral UF scaled positively with individual scores reflecting dissociation symptoms. The results support a pathophysiological model of PTSD that implicates limbic structures, prefrontal cortex and striatum. The results also emphasize the need to consider PTSD's multifaceted manifestations when searching for functional-structural relationships.

Observing the self, avoiding the experience? The role of the observer perspective in autobiographical recall and its relationship to depression in adolescence

The tendency to adopt an observer perspective (OP) when recalling autobiographical memories has been shown to be related to both avoidance and depression in adults. Very little research has examined this relationship in adolescents, however, and none of this work has adopted a longitudinal paradigm. This is an important gap in light of the marked escalation in rates of depression across the adolescent period. The current study therefore examined the concurrent and longitudinal (one year) relationships between observer perspective in the Minimal Instruction Autobiographical Memory Test (Mi-AMT; Debeer, E., Hermans, D., & Raes, F. (2009). Associations between components of rumination and autobiographical memory specificity as measured by a minimal instructions autobiographical memory test. Memory, 17(8), 892-903. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210903376243), avoidance, and depression in a large, longitudinal sample of adolescents (mean age = 15.03 at T1). Consistent with predictions we found a significant but small cross-sectional correlation between OP and higher levels of depressive symptoms, however the relationship with avoidance was not significant. Contrary to predictions, the longitudinal relationships of OP with avoidance and depression were not significant. These findings raise the possibility that OP may be negligibly related to avoidance or depression during adolescence.

Remembering the past and imagining the future: attachment effects on production of episodic details in close relationships

Attachment theories and studies have shown that Internal Working Models (IWMs) can impact autobiographical memory and future-oriented information processing relevant to close relationships. According to the constructive episodic simulation hypothesis (CESH), both remembering the past and imagining the future rely on episodic memory. We hypothesised that one way IWMs may bridge past experiences and future adaptations is via episodic memory. The present study investigated the association between attachment and episodic specificity in attachment-relevant and attachment-irrelevant memory and imagination among young and older adults. We measured the attachment style of 37 young adults and 40 older adults, and then asked them to remember or imagine attachment-relevant and attachment-irrelevant events. Participants' narratives were coded for internal details (i.e., episodic) and external details (e.g., semantic, repetitions). The results showed that across age group, secure individuals generated more internal details and fewer external details in attachment-relevant tasks compared to attachment-irrelevant tasks; these differences were not observed in insecure individuals. These findings support the CESH and provide a new perspective to understand the function of IWMs.