Summary: New research finds that adolescents with elevated depression symptoms show more rumination and weaker working memory, which relates to difficulty recalling specific personal memories.
Source: University of Reading.
Teenagers with depressive symptoms may find it harder to retrieve specific autobiographical memories, new research from the University of Reading suggests.
Researchers from the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences examined cognitive processes thought to interfere with the retrieval of specific personal memories. Published in the journal Memory, the study compared adolescents with high levels of depressive symptoms to peers with minimal symptoms and tested several proposed mechanisms behind Overgeneral Autobiographical Memory (OGM).
The team focused on the CaR-FA-X model, which proposes three interacting mechanisms that can cause overgeneral memory: capture and rumination (CaR), functional avoidance (FA), and impaired executive control (X). The study measured rumination, working memory, inhibition, and verbal fluency to determine which factors most strongly relate to reduced memory specificity in adolescents.
Lead author Jeni Fisk explained the motivation behind the study: “Understanding why teenagers with depression have difficulty with everyday cognitive tasks, such as remembering details or learning in class, is vital. Our findings show that specific aspects of cognitive function are disrupted in depression, and these disruptions are linked to how young people recall important personal memories. Better understanding these links can help shape classroom support and therapeutic approaches for adolescents experiencing depression.”
The research recruited 58 adolescents aged 12–17, split into two matched groups of 29: one group with elevated depressive symptoms and one with minimal symptoms. After controlling for IQ, the researchers compared performance on tasks assessing autobiographical memory specificity, rumination (repetitive negative thinking), working memory (holding and manipulating information), inhibition (suppressing impulses), and verbal fluency (generating words under constraints).
Key findings included:
- Adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms retrieved fewer specific autobiographical memories compared with peers with minimal symptoms.
- Those with higher depressive symptoms reported higher levels of rumination, suggesting greater cognitive interference from repetitive negative thoughts.
- Performance on working memory and verbal fluency tasks was poorer among adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms, indicating reduced executive function in these domains.
- There were no significant group differences on measures of inhibition or functional avoidance in this sample.
Fisk and colleagues interpret these results as offering partial support for the CaR-FA-X model in adolescents: overgeneral memory appears related to impaired working memory and verbal fluency, together with cognitive interference from rumination. Functional avoidance and inhibition did not significantly differ between groups in this study, suggesting that not all mechanisms in the CaR-FA-X model were evident in this adolescent sample.
These findings have practical implications. Overgeneral autobiographical memory is associated with the development and persistence of depression. If reduced memory specificity is linked to weaker working memory and increased rumination, interventions that strengthen working memory or reduce rumination may in turn help improve memory specificity and potentially reduce risk for ongoing depressive symptoms. The research highlights that supporting cognitive processes in the classroom and in clinical settings could be beneficial for adolescents reporting low mood.
Funding: This work was supported by the University of Reading.
Source: University of Reading
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image credit: Image adapted from the University of Reading news release.
Original research: Abstract for “A test of the CaR-FA-X mechanisms and depression in adolescents” by Jeni Fisk, Judi A. Ellis & Shirley A. Reynolds in Memory. Published September 5, 2018.
DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1518457
Abstract
A test of the CaR-FA-X mechanisms and depression in adolescents
Overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM), where individuals have difficulty recalling specific personal events, is commonly observed in people with depression and is linked to the onset and maintenance of depressive disorders. The CaR-FA-X model suggests three mechanisms that maintain OGM: capture and rumination (CaR), functional avoidance (FA), and impaired executive control (X). This study assessed OGM and tested components of the CaR-FA-X model in adolescents aged 12–17. Fifty-eight participants were divided into a group with elevated depressive symptoms and a matched group with minimal symptoms. After accounting for IQ, adolescents with elevated depression retrieved fewer specific memories, reported higher rumination, and showed poorer working memory and verbal fluency compared with peers. No group differences were found for inhibition or functional avoidance. These findings partially support the CaR-FA-X model in adolescence and suggest that OGM in young people may arise from impaired working memory and verbal fluency and from cognitive interference due to rumination.