The Comparison of Autobiographical Memory in PTSD & Normal Adults

This study examined the relationship between the ability to retrieval of semantic autobiographical memory in PTSD adults. The samples of this study selected from a group of PTSD of war as experimental and two control groups with and without PTSD and matched by Age and IQ. They completed the IES-R, BDI, BAI and WAIS-R and followed by AMI. Findings showed that PTSD samples were able to retrieval fewer specific semantic autobiographical memory in comparison to the control groups. The more symptomatic survivors showed the greatest memory impairment. The data from this study is discussed in terms of compromised access to specific autobiographical material in distressed trauma survivors reflecting a process of affect regulation. Also, decreases in specificity of traumatic memories were associated with higher post traumatic stress & more deficits in memory. The results showed that the amount of defects with these specific PTSD symptoms has a direct relation.