For example, when asked to recall a happy event, a person who exhibits OGM may say, "when I was on vacation last month" instead of remembering a single incident, such as, "my high school graduation.
A study in 1988 found that in-patients with a primary diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder were more likely to display OGM as compared to a healthy control group.
[1] In 2007, a meta-analysis performed by Williams et al. show that OGM is highly associated with depressive symptoms across many studies.
[3] In addition, there is evidence that higher levels of OGM predict even greater depressive symptoms up to seven months later.
Failure with interpersonal problem solving, increased rumination, difficulties imagining the future, and avoidance of negative emotions are all associated with OGM and are believed to be key factors in the maintenance of depression.
The study found that the veterans with a PTSD diagnosis significantly displayed more OGM, even when depression status was controlled for.
To focus on this particular issue and figure out if it is trauma exposure or PTSD symptoms that are necessary for the development of OGM, Moore and Zoellner reviewed 24 studies.
Participants in the study took the autobiographical memory test and were asked about past sexual and physical abuse.
In a study examining inpatient adolescents, it was found that self-reported abuse was significantly correlated with OGM, especially for positively valenced cues.
[14] In effort to avoid retrospective reports on abuse, recent research has been examining OGM in families currently involved with social services.
Valentino, Toth, and Cicchetti published a study in 2009 that examined the type of maltreatment a child experienced and current OGM.
Participants were recruited via the local Department of Human Services and included families with a substantiated report of abuse or neglect.
Additionally, neglected children may not have a specific trauma that they attempt to avoid, thus their memory search may not be affected.
Williams proposed that depressed patients may be more vulnerable to this general encoding style, leaving them with an inability to recall specific aspects of events.
Specifically, the model proposes that autobiographical memory can be broken down into four categories: conceptual themes, lifetime periods, general events, and event-specific knowledge.
This is especially prominent for the Impairment in Executive Capacity, as a failure in inhibition and working memory can help explain both Capture and Rumination and Functional Avoidance.
A meta-analysis by Sumner in 2012 verified the plausibility of Williams' CaR-FA-X model across 38 studies examining OGM.
[9] However, it is widely established that more research will be necessary in order to fully describe OGM effects in particular populations and under certain contexts.
[8] In their initial study, ten inpatient women experiencing depression participated in this group-based intervention over the course of four weeks.
The group met once a week in one-hour sessions, where they learned about OGM and practiced recalling specific memories.
While this initial study did not include a control group, the women showed dramatic improvements in reducing OGM.
Additionally, the participants also displayed reductions in rumination and feelings of hopelessness, independent of reduced depressive symptoms.
[8] Given the methodological issues of Raes et al.'s study, another research group tested MEST under more stringent conditions.
Using random assignment, a control group, and follow-up testing, Neshat-Doost et al. (2013) corroborated the initial findings that MEST is successful in reducing OGM and promoting more specific memory recall.
As OGM is thought to be part of the core mechanism predicting the course and maintenance of depression and PTSD, altering this cognitive style could prevent recurrence of symptoms.
Mark G. Williams and Keith Broadbent examined patterns of autobiographical memory in people who recently attempted suicide.