Autobiographical memory in children and adolescents with acute stress and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder

Children exposed to traumatic events either recently (Study 1) or in the past (Study 2) were administered the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT). In Study 1 (N = 67), when asked to retrieve memories from the 24-hour period following their trauma, children with higher levels of acute stress disorder symptoms retrieved a greater number of specific memories on the AMT than either children with low acute stress levels or hospital control children; no difference between groups was observed when memories were retrieved from a period that predated their trauma. However, in Study 2 (N = 67) children with posttraumatic stress disorder retrieved fewer specific memories than non-PTSD controls. The two studies represent the first occasions that AMT performance has been examined in acutely traumatised children and in a sample of children stringently diagnosed with PTSD respectively. The findings underscore the need for further prospective research with clinical samples of children who have experienced trauma.