Resilience buffers the impact of trauma on autobiographical memory
A Text Analysis of Daily Autobiographical Narratives
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7163283 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shan Zhang (0000-0001-5142-1559, Southwest University), Xinlei Zang (0000-0002-5723-353X, Southwest University), Houchao Lyu (0000-0002-6564-5163, Southwest University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 1142-1151 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-21 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Memory (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0965-8211 • E-ISSN: 1464-0686 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09658211.2025.2555525 |
| PMID | 40952920 |
| OpenAlex | W4414200142 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 62 |
Autobiographical memory plays a central role in behaviour regulation, social connection, and self-continuity, but may become emotionally biased after traumatic experiences. Resilience, defined as the capacity to adapt effectively to stress and adversity, is widely linked to psychological recovery. However, few studies have examined whether resilience can buffer emotional biases in daily autobiographical memory, particularly among trauma-exposed individuals. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine this relationship using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Seventy-nine participants (mean age = 22.26, 68.4% women) completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and reported autobiographical memories five times daily for seven consecutive days. Emotional valence features were extracted using natural language processing (NLP), including lexical-level features (e.g., negative term frequency) and sentence-level semantic features (e.g., positive sentence ratio). Multilevel modelling showed that while resilience was not associated with lexical-level features, it significantly predicted more positive and fewer negative emotional expressions at the semantic level. Moreover, negative memory entries tended to be followed by similarly negative content in subsequent entries, whereas positive entries did not exhibit such continuity. These results suggest that resilience may serve as a protective factor against the emotional effects of trauma in daily memory recall, offering potential insights for clinical intervention
Autobiographical memory · Childhood memory · Emotional valence · Episodic memory · Narrative · Psychological resilience · Sentence · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Resilience and Mental Health
Natural language processing
Understanding resilience
Advances in natural language processing
The Meaning Maintenance Model
Emotional Inertia and Psychological Maladjustment
The Development of Autobiographical Memory
A cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder
Psychometric analysis and refinement of the connor–davidson resilience scale (CD‐Risc)
Stress, appraisal, and coping
Positive Cognitive Reappraisal in Stress Resilience, Mental Health, and Well-Being
From Text to Thought
Semantic memory
Eyes don't lie
Examining Associations Between Major Negative Life Events, Changes in Weekly Reports of Post-Traumatic Growth and Global Reports of Eudaimonic Well-Being
The valence and the functions of autobiographical memories
Social Role Theory
Examining the Associations Between Childhood Trauma, Resilience, and Depression
Resilience and Positive Emotions
Themes of trust, identity, intimacy, and generativity in important autobiographical memories
How context, mood, and emotional memory interact in depression
The Words of Violence
Reminiscing about positive memories buffers acute stress responses
Effects of ruminative and distracting responses to depressed mood on retrieval of autobiographical memories
Sex differences in intensity of emotional experience
Nostalgia and well-being in daily life
Resilience across Cultures
Bad is Stronger than Good
A random walk down university avenue
Social and Psychological Resources and Adaptation
| Highly cited | No |
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