Autobiographical memory disturbance in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder

doi:10.1016/0005-7967(95)00007-K

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Volume 33, Issue 6, July 1995, Pages 619-630

https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(95)00007-K Get rights and content

Abstract

Vietnam combat veterans with (n = 19) and without (n = 13) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) participated in an autobiographical memory experiment in which they attempted to retrieve specific personal memories exemplifying traits denoted by positive (e.g. loyal) and negative (e.g. guilty) cue words. Veterans with PTSD exhibited difficulties retrieving specific autobiographical memories, especially in response to positive trait cue words. These deficits were especially pronounced in PTSD Ss who wore Vietnam War regalia (e.g. medals, fatigues) to the laboratory. Regalia-wearing PTSD Ss disproportionately retrieved memories from the Vietnam War, unlike other Ss who retrieved relatively recent memories. Wearing regalia in daily life may be emblematic of psychological fixation to a war fought more than two decades ago. Difficulties remembering one's past may underlie difficulties envisioning one's future, as reflected in the PTSD symptom of ‘future foreshortening’, and difficulties using memory specifically may also hamper efforts to solve personal problems.

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Autobiographical memory disturbance in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Cognitive Psychology

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

Likableness ratings of 555 personality-trait words

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Rating scale for assessing current and lifetime PTSD: The CAPS-I

The Behavior Therapist

Autobiographical memory in depression: State or trait marker?

British Journal of Psychiatry

Frequency of episodic memories as a function of their age

Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society

Self-representation in anxious states of mind: A comparison of psychodynamic models

Autobiographical memory and problem-solving strategies of parasuicide patients

Psychological Medicine

Firearm collection and use among combat veterans admitted to a posttraumatic stress disorder rehabilitation unit

Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease