Abstract
The Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) is the most widely used measure of overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM). The AMT appears to have good psychometric properties, but more research is needed on the influence and applicability of individual cue words in different languages and populations. To date, no studies have evaluated its usefulness as a measure of OMG in Spanish or older populations. This work aims to analyze the applicability of the AMT in young and older Spanish samples. We administered a Spanish version of the AMT to samples of young (N = 520) and older adults (N = 155). We conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), item response theory-based analysis (IRT) and differential item functioning (DIF). Results confirm the one-factor structure for the AMT. IRT analysis suggests that both groups find the AMT easy given that they generally perform well, and that it is more precise in individuals who score low on memory specificity. DIF analysis finds three items differ in their functioning depending on age group. This differential functioning of these items affects the overall AMT scores and, thus, they should be excluded from the AMT in studies comparing young and older samples. We discuss the possible implications of the samples and cue words used.
Highlights
Autobiographical memory (AM) may be defined as a mental representation of the events of one’s past, containing episodic memories and self-referential semantic information [1]
If we consider the total number of specific memories in Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), we find that the younger group (M = 7.93, SD = 2.18) provides more specific memories than the older group (M = 6.65, SD = 2.31; t(673) = 6.34, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 0.57)
First, we analyzed the factor structure of both tests, and using an item response theory-based analysis (IRT) analysis, we assessed the psychometric properties of the AMT to determine their applicability in both populations
Summary
Autobiographical memory (AM) may be defined as a mental representation of the events of one’s past, containing episodic memories and self-referential semantic information [1]. Overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) is one of the most studied aspects of AM. It may be defined as the difficulty in retrieving specific memories (periods of time measured in seconds, minutes and hours that last less than 24 hours, for example, “my wedding day”) and recalling general memories instead. Two types of memories are distinguished: categoric memories (memories of events stored in categories such as persons, places and activities, for example, ‘every time I went to the beach’) and extended memories (memories that refer to an event lasting for more than one day, for example, “when I was at school”). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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