Autobiographical Memory Specificity and Flexibility Moderate the Influence of Negative Life Events on Major Depression in U.K. Undergraduate Students: A 1-Year Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Autobiographical memory specificity, the ability to retrieve memories of unique events, can moderate the influence of chronic life stress on mood. The current aim was to determine if autobiographical memory flexibility, the ability to switch between the retrieval of specific (unique) and general memories (summaries of repeated events), moderated the influence of life stress on probable major depression in a U.K. student sample at 12-week and 1-year follow-up. A total of 92 students (Mage = 22.03, SD = 4.84) completed a task assessing autobiographical memory flexibility and autobiographical memory specificity and measures of anxiety and major depressive disorder. At follow-up, participants completed the same mood scales plus a recent life hassles measure. Specificity and flexibility individually moderated the relationship between daily hassles and probable major depressive disorder at 1-year follow-up; lower specificity/flexibility combined with increased life stress was linked to a higher probability of major depressive disorder. Memory flexibility represents a plausible target for interventions to improve students’ mood.