Memory bias and personality characteristics in college students with social anxiety disorder

Abstract Introduction Some individuals are more susceptible to recalling false information about events that never happened in their life. Nevertheless, there are several factors, such as personality characteristics, that appear to be related to memory performance. Social anxiety also provokes memory deficits for events that happen to other people, because these individuals tend to focus on their own inner selves rather than on external signs. Objective To investigate the influence of the personality characteristics of individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) on memory performance. Methods In this study, 183 university students had their memory tested using a complex emotional story about a mother and her son. Only subjects without clinical symptoms of depression and general anxiety (N = 148; 61 with SAD) were included in the study. Participants were compared for differences in personality characteristics using the Factorial Inventory of Personality and for SAD using the Social Phobia Inventory. Results The main results showed that memory performance of individuals with low percentile ranks in the personality characteristic dominance, i.e., those with low self-esteem, remembered more true information about the story than those with high scores when they did not have SAD. Conclusion The results are helpful to foster better understanding of the personality characteristics related to SAD, such as low dominance, which implies low self-esteem and difficulties with trust and with imposing themselves on others. The results could help development and improvement of techniques for therapeutic intervention.

Sintomas ansiosos e depressivos em universitários brasileiros / Anxiety and depressive symptoms in brazilian college students / Sintomas ansiosos y depresivos en universitarios brasileños

Este estudo objetiva verificar a prevalência de sintomas ansiosos e depressivos em universitários e verificar se estas variáveis possuem associação com gênero, tipo de instituição, área e ano da graduação. Compõe a amostra 558 estudantes do interior de São Paulo (55,4% mulheres) de faculdades pública e privadas, de diferentes áreas e períodos da graduação. Os instrumentos utilizados foram os Inventários de Ansiedade e de Depressão de Beck (BAI e BDI) e o Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Utilizou-se estatística descritiva e o teste Qui-Quadrado para análise dos dados. Os resultados demonstram que as faixas moderada e grave correspondem a 10,8% da amostra para o BAI, 5,4% para o BDI e 5% para o PHQ-9, com associação entre o gênero feminino e as faixas de gravidade de todos os instrumentos e o tipo de instituição e as faixas dos sintomas de ansiedade. O sofrimento psicológico da amostra e especificidades em relação ao gênero destacam a importância do aprimoramento do suporte oferecido pelas instituições universitárias.

This study aims to characterize anxiety and depressive symptoms in college students and to verify if these variables are associated with sex, institution type, area and graduation year. The sample comprises 558 students from the interior of São Paulo state (55.4% women), from public and private colleges, from different areas and graduation periods. Instruments used were the Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventory (BAI and BDI) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used for data analysis. The results show that the moderate and severe ranges correspond to 10.8% of the BAI sample, 5.4% of the BDI and 5% of the PHQ-9, with an association between sex and the scoring ranges for all instruments. Psychological suffering of the sample and gender specificities highlights the importance of improving the support offered by university institutions.

Este estudio objetiva caracterizar los síntomas ansiosos y depresivos en universitarios y compruebar se estas variables se asociam con género, tipo de institución, área y año de graduación. Hace parte de la muestra 558 estudiantes del estado de San Pablo (55,4% mujeres), de las facultades públicas y privadas, de las diferentes áreas y los períodos de graduación. Los instrumientos utilizados fueron los Inventarios de Ansiedad y Depresión de Beck (BAI y BDI) e Cuestionario de Salud del Paciente-9 (PHQ-9). Fuera utilizado de la estadística descriptiva y del prueba Qui-Quadrado para la evaluación de los datos. Los resultados demuestraran que las formas moderadas y graves corresponden 10,8% de la muestra para el BAI, 5,4% para el BDI y el 5% para el PHQ-9, con la asociación entre el géneroy las formas de gravedad de todos los instrumientos. El sofrimiento psicológico de la muestra y las especificaciones en relación con el género destacan la importância del aumento del apoyo de las instituciones universitarias.

False memories in social anxiety disorder

Abstract Background False memories are memories of events that never occurred or that occurred, but not exactly as we recall. Events with emotional content are subject to false memories production similar to neutral events. However, individual differences, such as the level of maladjustment and emotional instability characteristics of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), may interfere in the production of false memories. Objectives This study aimed to assess the effect of emotion in memory performance for an event witnessed by participants with and without SAD. Methods Participants were 61 young adults with SAD and 76 without any symptoms of SAD who were randomly assigned to watch a story with or without emotional arousal. Participants answered a subjective scale of emotion about the story and a recognition memory test. Results Participants with SAD recovered more true memories and more false memories for the non-emotional version compared to the emotional version of the story. Overall, participants with SAD produced fewer false memories compared to those without SAD. Discussion This finding suggests that social anxiety may have a significant impact on emotional memory accuracy, which may assist in the development and improvement of techniques for therapeutic intervention.

O efeito do alerta emocional na qualidade da memória / The effect of emotional arousal in the quality of memory

Este artigo visa fornecer evidências científicas da susceptibilidade das memórias à distorção mediante um estudo das falsas memórias (lembranças de eventos que, na realidade, não ocorreram) para eventos complexos estimulantes. A amostra foi composta por 380 adultos com idade entre 17 e 45 anos. Foi usada a versão brasileira do Procedimento de Apresentação de Slides de Cahill e McGaugh adaptada por Neufeld, Brust e Stein para a realidade Sul-brasileira e para a investigação do efeito do alerta emocional na memória e nas falsas memórias. O procedimento é constituído por 11 slides, acompanhados por duas versões de uma narrativa (uma emocionalmente estimulante, sendo então a versão estimulante, e outra com um apelo emocional muito menos intenso, ou seja, a versão controle). O desempenho da memória foi avaliado por meio de um teste de memória de reconhecimento. Os resultados indicaram que a introdução de informações emocionais no meio da versão emocionalmente estimulante pode levar ao aumento de memórias verdadeiras, bem como ao aumento da produção de falsas memórias...

This study extends scientific evidence on the susceptibility of distorted memories by assessing false memories (remembering events that did not actually occur) in emotionally arousing complex events. The experiment was conducted with 380 participants, aged between 17 and 45 years. The South Brazilian version of Cahill and McGaugh's Slideshow Procedure adapted by Neufeld, Brust and Stein on the evaluation of the effect of emotion on memory and false memories was used. The procedure entailed showing the participant 11 slides, followed by asking the participant to read one of the two possible versions of a narrative (either the emotionally arousing or neutral narrative). Memory performance was investigated using a recognition memory test. Results suggest that introducing emotional information into the arousing narrative may lead to the enhancement of true memory as well as to the enhancement of the production of false memories...