Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA.
Memory. 2020 Sep;28(8):998-1013. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2020.1809679. Epub 2020 Aug 25.
Positive memories play an important role in the aetiology and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, most trauma research/clinical work has focused solely on the role of traumatic memories. Thus, we examined the relationship between count of retrieved positive memories and PTSD severity, factors associated with count of retrieved positive memories (i.e., rumination, negative/positive emotion dysregulation, fear of positive emotions), and the relationship between positive memory phenomenological domains and PTSD severity. The sample included 185 trauma-exposed participants recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk ( = 35.69 years; 63.80% female). Results of linear/hierarchical regressions showed that (1) PTSD severity did not predict count of (specific) positive memories; (2) greater positive emotion dysregulation predicted fewer retrieved positive memories controlling for PTSD severity; and (3) greater PTSD severity predicted more negative valence, less vividness, less coherence, less accessibility, less clear time perspective, fewer sensory details, and greater distancing ratings of the retrieved positive memory, controlling for sleep quantity/quality. Findings add to the literature by informing PTSD theoretical perspectives; enhancing an understanding of positive memories in PTSD/trauma treatments; and highlighting potential clinical targets (e.g., positive emotion regulation), when integrating a focus on positive memories into PTSD intervention.
积极记忆在创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的病因和维持中起着重要作用。然而，大多数创伤研究/临床工作仅关注创伤记忆的作用。因此，我们研究了检索到的积极记忆数量与 PTSD 严重程度之间的关系、与检索到的积极记忆数量相关的因素（即反刍、消极/积极情绪失调、对积极情绪的恐惧），以及积极记忆现象学领域与 PTSD 严重程度之间的关系。该样本包括通过亚马逊 Mechanical Turk 招募的 185 名创伤后暴露的参与者（ = 35.69 岁；63.80%为女性）。线性/分层回归的结果表明：（1）PTSD 严重程度不能预测（特定）积极记忆的数量；（2）在控制 PTSD 严重程度的情况下，更大的积极情绪失调预测检索到的积极记忆更少；（3）在控制睡眠数量/质量的情况下，更大的 PTSD 严重程度预测检索到的积极记忆的负性更强、生动性更差、连贯性更差、可及性更差、时间视角更不清晰、感觉细节更少、距离感更强。研究结果为 PTSD 理论视角提供了信息；增强了对 PTSD/创伤治疗中积极记忆的理解；并突出了潜在的临床目标（例如，积极情绪调节），当将积极记忆的焦点整合到 PTSD 干预中时。
