Positive memory specificity is associated with reduced vulnerability to depression

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide¹. Early life stress exposure increases risk for depression² and has been proposed to sensitize the maturing psychophysiological stress system to stress in later life³. In response to stress, positive memory activation has been found to dampen cortisol responses and improve mood in humans⁴ and to reduce depression-like behaviour in mice⁵. We used path modelling to examine whether recalling specific positive memories predicts reduced vulnerability to depression (high morning cortisol^6-9 and negative self-cognitions during low mood^10-12) in adolescents at risk due to early life stress (n = 427, age 14 years)⁸. We found that positive memory specificity was associated with lower morning cortisol and fewer negative self-cognitions during low mood over the course of one year. Moderated mediation analyses demonstrated that positive memory specificity was related to lower depressive symptoms through fewer negative self-cognitions in response to negative life events reported in the one-year interval. These findings indicate that recalling specific positive life experiences may be a resilience factor¹³ that helps in lowering depressive vulnerability in adolescents with a history of early life stress.