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    The Impact of Abuse Exposure on Memory Processes and Attentional Biases in a College-Aged Sample

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    Issue Date
    2007-11-07
    Author
    Bunnell, Sarah Loveland
    Publisher
    University of Kansas
    Format
    91 pages
    Type
    Thesis
    Degree Level
    M.A.
    Discipline
    Psychology
    Rights
    This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
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    Abstract
    This research assessed whether attentional biases in response to negative stimuli were related to the poor specificity and low levels of emotional language that have previously been observed in stressed individuals. The relations between abuse and assessments of autobiographical memory, working memory, attentional biases, and psychopathology were examined in eighty college students, thirty-four of whom reported past experiences with abuse or domestic violence. Abuse history was unrelated to memory specificity, but recent abuse was related to lower levels of positive emotional language. Depressive symptoms were related to more negative emotional language and overgeneral memories. The analyses also indicated that child abuse exposure was associated with a subliminal bias to attend to abuse-related stimuli. An unconscious bias toward trauma, in turn, predicted fewer overgeneral, and more specific, memories. One implication is that poor memory specificity may be due to automatic attentional processes instead of strategic avoidance of potentially negative memory content.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/3957
    Collections
    • Psychology Dissertations and Theses [459]
    • Theses [3828]

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    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
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    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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