Autobiographical memory and early schemas of abused children prediction of quality of life

The purposes of this study were to compare autobiographical memory, early schemas and the quality of life between abused and non-abused children and to predict their quality of life. Fifty boys and girls aged between 8 and 12 who according to school authorities reports were physically abused by their family members, and 50 children without history of abuse were selected using convenience sampling from 16th district of Tehran. Each group consisted of 25 Iranian and 25 Afghan children. The participants completed the Autobiographical Memory Task (AMT, Williams & Broadbent, 1986), the Schema Inventory for Children (Rijkeboer & deBoo, 2009), and the Kidscreen-27 (European Public Health Perspective, 2004). The data were analyzed by multivariate chi-square, t-test and multiple regression. The results indicated that 1) child abuse was not related to the type of memories by children, though it was associated with more nonspecific memories in positive and neutral words, 2) there were significant differences between two groups in schemas and quality of life, and 3) schemas could predict quality of life. The findings suggested the role of schemas in identifying at-risk children and controlling their conditions of life.