Autobiographical memory in suicide attempters.

TLDR

Mood‑memory phenomena have been investigated in both nondepressed and clinically depressed individuals using laboratory mood induction procedures. The present study examined both hedonic and nonhedonic aspects of autobiographical memory in people who had recently attempted suicide by overdose. Suicide attempters showed biased autobiographical recall, driven by delayed retrieval of positive memories rather than accelerated negative recall, and this bias stemmed partly from inappropriate retrieval strategies that produced general instead of specific memories, supporting associative network models of emotional memory. © 1986 American Psychological Association.

Abstract

Mood-memory phenomena have been studied using laboratory mood induction procedures with nondepressed subjects and with clinically depressed individuals. The present study examined both hedonic and nonhedonic aspects of autobiographical memory in people who had recently attempted suicide by overdose. Attempted suicide subjects, who were required to retrieve specific personal memories to positive or negative cue words, showed biased retrieval when their performance was compared with that of control groups, but the bias was wholly due to delayed retrieval of positive memories rather than speeded retrieval of negative memories. At least part of this effect was due to inappropriate retrieval strategies that yielded general rather than specific memories in the overdose group and have implications for associative network models of emotional memory. © 1986 American Psychological Association.