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Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
Early memories: Clinical relevance and significance
Gillian van der Watt1, David Coall2, Adelln Sng3
1Senior Research Officer, School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
Objective:
The purpose of this research was to examine earliest memories in patients with a mental disorder and their clinical relevance to diagnosis and treatment.
Method:
A semi-structured early memory questionnaire was developed and 50 patients with anxiety, depression or a psychotic disorder were interviewed. A thematic analysis was conducted to extract dominant themes from the qualitative data.
Results:
Family events, play, and receiving attention were dominant themes of pleasant memories, while unpleasant memories consisted of fear-provoking situations, abuse/violence, and death-related themes. Participants were able to recall the feelings they had experienced at the time of their earliest memories and most participants stated that their first memories had significant impact in their lives.
Conclusions:
The findings of this exploratory study suggest that earliest memories may be of clinical significance for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in psychiatry.
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