Autobiographical memory and trauma in adolescents
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Updated: Oct 13, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection
Published on: August 26, 2011
C Meesters1, H Merckelbach, P Muris
1Department of Medical, Clinical and Experimental Psychology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. c.meesters@dep.unimaas.nl
Abstract:
Several clinicians who work with traumatized children have noted that these children exhibit a poor autobiographical memory. The present study was a first attempt to subject this clinical impression to formal testing. Memory for autobiographical facts (i.e., semantic autobiographical memory) was assessed in 10 adolescents with an alleged history of trauma and 17 adolescents without such a background. Results suggest that traumatized adolescents, indeed, have more difficulty with semantic personal memory than non-traumatized adolescents. Implications of the present findings for future research on trauma and autobiographical memory in children and adolescents are discussed.
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