Overgeneral autobiographical memory, emotional maltreatment, and depressive symptoms in adolescence: Evidence of a cognitive vulnerability–stress interaction

Overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) is associated with depression and may confer risk for the development of depressed mood, but few longitudinal studies have evaluated OGM as a predictor of depressive symptoms in early adolescence, particularly in the context of environmental stressors. We investigated whether OGM and emotional maltreatment would interact to predict prospective increases in depressive symptoms in early adolescents and whether these effects differed by race. Among 174 seventh-graders, OGM and familial emotional abuse interacted to predict depressive symptoms eight months later, controlling for initial depressive symptoms. Specifically, emotional abuse predicted increases in depressive symptoms among Caucasian adolescents with more OGM, but not among those with less OGM. This association was not significant for African American adolescents. These results provide support for a cognitive vulnerability–stress relationship between OGM and emotional abuse in early adolescence and suggest that these mechanisms of risk for depression may be specific to Caucasian adolescents.

► We tested overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) as a vulnerability to depression.
► OGM interacted with emotional abuse (EA) to predict increases in depressive symptoms.
► EA predicted increases in depression among Caucasian adolescents with more OGMs.
► OGM may serve as a vulnerability to depression in the face of stressors such as EA.
► OGM may confer vulnerability to depression among Caucasian adolescents.