Review: Memory bias in adolescents with depression - a systematic review and meta-analysis

Memory bias, the tendency to retrieve specific memories, is an established phenomenon in adults with depression. However, evidence on the link between depression and memory bias in children is mixed. This systematic review aimed to synthesize current knowledge examining memory bias and depression in children and adolescents.

Systematic searches were conducted in February 2025 in six databases (MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, Scopus). Studies measuring memory bias for autobiographical memory, emotional faces, words, and pictures in children and adolescents (≤18 years) with depression were included. Included studies were peer-reviewed and of cross-sectional or longitudinal design. Random effects meta-analyses of study outcomes were performed. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools assessed study quality.

Thirty-six studies, comprising 4293 adolescents (mean age 14.5 ± 1.3 years, age range: 12-17 years; 65% female), were included. Compared with controls, participants with depression exhibited better recall of overgeneral memories (g = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.42, 1.30) and poorer recognition of sad faces (g = -0.43; 95% CI: -0.79, -0.06) and neutral pictures (g = -0.48; 95% CI: -0.93, -0.03). No differences in recognition of happy, fearful, angry, or neutral faces, as well as emotional words or pictures, were observed.

Associations between memory bias and depression in adolescents were observed, but were fewer compared to the more established literature association of memory bias and depression in adults. Increased recall of overgeneral memories may represent an isolated therapeutic target for adolescents with depression.