Ability of Retrieval Specific Memory Materials from Autobiographical Memory among PTSD Veteran's Young Children

The purpose of this study is to survey the ability of retrieving specific memory materials from autobiographical memory among PTSD veterans’ young children. The sample contains 131 high school students in 3 groups: PTSD veterans’ young children (n=31) as the target group, young children of veterans without PTSD (n=50), and young children of healthy persons (n=50), as comparison groups. Participants in all three groups are approximately matched in age, gender and academic achievement. Research instruments included: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y) and Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT). Data analysis is done by the method of descriptive statistics, One Way Analysis of Variance, and Scheffe Fallow-up Test. The results in dicate that PTSD veterans’ children have lower performance in autobiographical memory task than healthy persons’ children. In other words, PTSD veterans’ children have lower ability for retrieving specific autobiographical memory materials from memory and retrieve less specific memories from memory. The research also indicates that the state of depression and anxiety in PTSD veterans’ children is higher than healthy persons’ children, while in these two components (autobiographical memory and anxiety) there are no significant differences between PTSD veterans’ children and non-PTSD veterans’ children. However, in the depression component there is a significant difference between them. research findings have shown that levels of anxiety in non-PTSD veterans’ children were lower than healthy persons’ children, but there was no significant difference between them in depression.