Do depressive symptoms and subjective well-being influence the valence or visual perspective of autobiographical memories in young adults?

The present study examines predictors of autobiographical memory valence and visual perspective. Participants (N = 144) between the ages of 18-35 years completed an online survey assessing depressive symptoms, and different aspects of subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect). Participants retrieved six autobiographical memories cued via positive, negative, and neutral words and completed a questionnaire assessing characteristics of the memories, including memory valence and visual perspective. Using structural equation modelling, we found that the valence of neutral cued memories were significantly negatively associated with depressive symptoms and negative affect, and significantly positively associated with life satisfaction, even after controlling for current mood. Depressive symptoms were generally not significantly related to visual perspective. These results support previous findings that depressive symptoms and well-being are related to differences in memory characteristics but suggest that some of the relationships may be less robust when examined in a non-clinical sample.