Positive memory specificity is associated with reduced vulnerability to depression

Abstract

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide 1. Early life stress exposure increases risk for depression 2 , and has been proposed to sensitise the maturing psychophysiological stress

The complex neurobiology of resilient functioning after childhood maltreatment

“…negative) events have distal effects. In the same paper, we found that individuals with greater positive memory specificity experienced fewer negative self-cognitions, which in turn led to fewer depressive symptoms [165]. In other work, we demonstrated that children who experienced greater childhood adversity showed greater depressive symptoms 3 years later, in part due to the mediating mechanism whereby greater CM negatively affected both friendships and family support in the intervening years Fig.…”

“…Moderators directly affect the strength of the relationship between some form of adversity and an outcome, providing either a buffering or an amplifying effect. For instance, we observed that individuals who experienced more negative life events showed a stronger association between their positive memory specificity and negative self-cognitions [165]. In other words, individuals who had access to more specific positive memories displayed resilience against negative self-cognitions after negative life events.…”

“…A recent systematic review of the literature suggests key roles for emotion regulation, cognitive skills, empathy and positive outlooks in resilient outcomes in children [136]. Indeed, positive views regarding the cognitive triad of self, the world and the future as well as the ability to remember specific positive events have been associated with a higher level of resilient functioning after CM [165,[208][209][210]. Moreover, self-reliance, self-confidence and interpersonal reserve promote resilient adaptations in children with a history of CM [211].…”

“…Path modelling is a more flexible extension of regression analysis [172] and is well suited to study complex resilience factors and processes as it can integrate data and hypothesised relations from multiple explanatory levels. For instance, using path modelling, we recently found that recalling specific positive memories was associated with reduced cognitive and physiological vulnerability to depression over two time points in adolescents exposed to childhood adversity [165]. Path analysis can also be used to test hypotheses of mediation and moderation, which may be of particular relevance in resilience studies investigating whether resilience factors and mechanisms moderate and/or mediate the relation between CM and mental wellbeing.…”

Deconstructing and Reconstructing Resilience: A Dynamic Network Approach

“…Predictors of resilience in quantitative prospective-longitudinal studies include good reactivity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal gland (HPA) axis to stressors, a heterozygous catechol-o-methyl transferase (COMT) genotype, appraisal styles such as a tendency to positively reappraise and to not catastrophize about stressors, or a tendency for self-enhancement, the ability to recall specific positive memories, and strong familial and/or social support (Askelund, Schweizer, Goodyer, & Harmelen, 2019;Kalisch et al, 2017). Each single of these predisposing factors may only have a very small effect on resilient outcomes, and it has been noted that replications of significant findings in independent samples are largely absent (Bonanno et al, 2015;Kalisch et al, 2017).…”