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Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Gepubliceerd in:

01-03-2010 | Brief Report

Brief Report: Self-defining and Everyday Autobiographical Memories in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Auteurs: Laura Crane, Lorna Goddard, Linda Pring

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | Uitgave 3/2010

Abstract

Autobiographical memory impairments in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been attributed to a failure in using the self as an effective memory organisational system. To explore this hypothesis, we compared self-defining and everyday memories in adults with and without ASD. Results demonstrated that both groups were able to distinguish between self-defining and everyday memories, although the ASD group generated fewer specific memories overall. Despite qualitative similarities between the narratives of the two groups, the adults with ASD extracted less meaning from their narratives. Difficulties in eliciting meaning from memories suggests a failure in using past experiences to update the self. We therefore propose that the self-memory relationship might be static, rather than dynamic, in ASD.

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Despite the gender ratio of approximately 4:1 (males: females) in ASD, with ratios of around 6:1 reported for higher functioning samples (Fombonne 1999), an equal number of males and females participated in the current study. This was to assess the role of gender on autobiographical memory in ASD, in view of gender differences being previously reported on autobiographical memory tasks (e.g., Goddard et al. 1998; Pohl et al. 2005). However, the current study found no significant effects of gender on any of the variables in the current study, in either the ASD or control group.

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Titel: Brief Report: Self-defining and Everyday Autobiographical Memories in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Auteurs: Laura Crane
Lorna Goddard
Linda Pring
Publicatiedatum: 01-03-2010
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders / Uitgave 3/2010
Print ISSN: 0162-3257
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-3432
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0875-4

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