Overgeneral autobiographical memory and chronic interpersonal stress as predictors of the course of depression in adolescents

Abstract

This study investigated whether overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) predicts the course of depression in adolescents. As part of a larger longitudinal study of risk for emotional disorders, 55 adolescents with a past history of major depressive disorder or minor depressive disorder completed the Autobiographical Memory Test. Fewer specific memories predicted the subsequent onset of a major depressive episode (MDE) over a 16-month follow-up period, even when covarying baseline depressive symptoms. This main effect was qualified by an interaction between specific memories and chronic interpersonal stress: Fewer specific memories predicted greater risk of MDE onset over follow-up at high (but not low) levels of chronic interpersonal stress. Thus, our findings suggest that OGM, in interaction with chronic interpersonal stress, predicts the course of depression among adolescents, and highlight the importance of measuring interpersonal stress in OGM research.

Figure 1

Timeline of the study presenting the mean number of months between time points. At Time 1, a lifetime SCID and LSI for the past 12 months were administered. Approximately 9 months later, participants completed the AMT and IDD at Time 2. At Time 3, approximately 4 months after Time 2, SCID and LSI interviews covering the period since Time 1 were administered. SCID and LSI interviews covering the period since Time 3 were administered at Time 4, approximately 12 months after Time 3 and 16 months after Time 2.

Figure 2

Probability of MDE onset from Time 2 through Time 4 as a function of specific memories and chronic interpersonal stress. Values on the x-axis reflect the range of the proportion of specific memories in this sample. Low and high chronic interpersonal stress represent values of one standard deviation below and above the mean on this variable, respectively, and medium chronic interpersonal stress represents the mean value.