The Relationship between Traumatic Life Events and Autobiographical Memory Characteristics and Smoking

Objective: The Basic Systems Model of Autobiographical Memory argues that when traumatic or stress- ful experiences become central to an individual's daily life, the accessibility to the experience in auto- biographical memory increases, which triggers posttraumatic stress disorder by activating rumination. Smoking may be correlated with autobiographical memory in traumatic or stressful experiences. Thus, the autobiographical memory characteristics of individuals who experienced traumatic life events and the role of smoking in this relationship were investigated.

Methods: A total of 453 people, 336 women and 117 men, participated in the study. Memory form and 4 self-report scales (Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, Life Events Checklist-5, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Short Scale, Autobiographical Memory Characteristics Questionnaire) were applied to the participants.

Results: Results show that trauma is highly correlated with emotional valence, belief in accuracy, emotional intensity, and sensory details. Smoking correlates with sensory details, preoccupation with emotions, belief in accuracy, and emotional valence. Smoking moderates the relationship between trauma and emotional distance. Lastly, the accessibil- ity which reveals trauma moderates the relationship between vividness and smoking.

Conclusion: The findings are discussed in the context of the relevant literature.

Cite this article as: Huseynbalayeva S, Pakyurek G. The relationship between traumatic life events and autobiographical memory characteristics and smoking. Neuropsychiatr Invest. 2023;61(2):49-56.