Overgeneral and specific autobiographical memory predict the course of depression: an updated meta-analysis

Abstract

Impairments in retrieving event-level, specific autobiographical memories, termed overgeneral memory (OGM), are recognised as a feature of clinical depression. A previous meta-analytic review assessing how OGM predicts the course of subsequent depressive symptoms showed small effects for correlations and regression analyses when baseline depressive symptoms were controlled for. We aimed to update this study and examine whether their findings replicate given the decade of research that has been published since. A systematic literature review using the same eligibility criteria as the previous meta-analysis led to a doubling of eligible studies (32 v. 15). The results provided more precise estimates of effect sizes, and largely support the finding that OGM predicts the course of depressive symptoms. The effects were generally small, but significantly larger among clinical samples, compared to studies with non-clinical samples. There was some evidence that higher age was associated with stronger effects, and longer follow-up was associated with weaker effects. The findings on other moderating variables that were analysed were mixed. Continued research into this modifiable cognitive process may help to provide an avenue to better understand and treat highly prevalent and impactful depressive disorders.

Keywords: Autobiographical memory specificity; course of depression; depression; meta-analysis; overgeneral memory.