This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Do People Really Remember?

C. David Jenkins, PhD; Michael W. Hurst, EdD; Robert M. Rose, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1979;36(4):379-384.

Abstract
• The question, "How well do people remember life changes?" was approached in a longitudinal study of nearly 400 healthy men in a responsible profession. Three scales for assessing life changes were administered by questionnaire at two examinations nine months apart. The subjects were asked to report life change events occurring during a specific six-month period—that which immediately preceded the first examination. For all three life change scales there was substantial forgetting over the interval between reports, with a second report yielding total scores 34% to 46% less than those from the first report for the same period. The amount of change over time varied greatly across persons. These findings raise serious questions about the validity of retrospective studies of life change and illness when the period being reported is greater than six months in the past. They do not, however, jeopardize the potential of the method for prospective studies.

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Behavioral Epidemiology (Dr Jenkins) and Psychosomatic Medicine (Dr Hurst), Boston University School of Medicine; and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston (Dr Rose).

Footnotes
Accepted for publication March 27, 1977.

Read in part before the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society, Pittsburgh, March 27, 1976.

Reprint requests to Department of Behavioral Epidemiology, Suite 501, 720 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118 (Dr Jenkins).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Individuality in Vulnerability: Influences on Physical Health
Horner
J Health Psychol 1998;3:71-85.
ABSTRACT  

How big is human memory, or on being just useful enough.
Dudai
Learn. Mem. 1997;3:341-365.
 

Test-Retest Reliability of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC 2.1) Parent, Child, and Combined Algorithms
Jensen et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1995;52:61-71.
ABSTRACT  

Immersion Events in Residential Swimming Pools: Evidence for an Experience Effect
Wintemute et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1991;145:1200-1203.
ABSTRACT  

Adaptive Potential, Stress, and Natural Killer Cell Activity in Older Adults
I. Mishra et al.
J Aging Health 1991;3:368-385.
ABSTRACT  

The Experience of Micro- and Macroevents: A Life Span Analysis
Martin and Smyer
Research on Aging 1990;12:294-310.
ABSTRACT  

Linkage Studies of Bipolar Disorder: Methodologic and Analytic Issues: Report of MacArthur Foundation Workshop on Linkage and Clinical Features in Affective Disorders
Merikangas et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1989;46:1137-1141.
ABSTRACT  

The Social Environment and Psychopathology
Monroe
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 1988;5:347-366.
ABSTRACT  

Stress and Its Relationship to Acute Exacerbations in Multiple Sclerosis
Franklin et al.
Neurorehabil Neural Repair 1988;2:7-11.
ABSTRACT  

Lifetime Prevalence of Specific Psychiatric Disorders Among Mexican Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites in Los Angeles
Karno et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1987;44:695-701.
ABSTRACT  

Family-Genetic Studies of Psychiatric Disorders: Developing Technologies
Weissman et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1986;43:1104-1116.
ABSTRACT  

Subtypes of Depression: Family Study Perspective
Leckman et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1984;41:833-838.
ABSTRACT  

Appetite Disturbance and Excessive Guilt in Major Depression: Use of Family Study Data to Define Depressive Subtypes
Leckman et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1984;41:839-844.
ABSTRACT  

Psychiatric Disorders in the Relatives of Probands With Affective Disorders: The Yale University--National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Study
Weissman et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1984;41:13-21.
ABSTRACT  

Engaged Members of the Unification Church: Impact of a Charismatic Large Group on Adaptation and Behavior
Galanter
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1983;40:1197-1202.
ABSTRACT  

Risk, Protective Factors, and Supportive Interventions in Chronic Airway Obstruction
Jensen
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1983;40:1203-1207.
ABSTRACT  

Reliability of Life-Event Interviews With Outpatient Schizophrenics
Neugebauer
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1983;40:378-383.
ABSTRACT  

Variability in Rates of Affective Disorders in Relatives of Depressed and Normal Probands
Weissman et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1982;39:1397-1403.
ABSTRACT  

Assessment of Life Events: Retrospective vs Concurrent Strategies
Monroe
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1982;39:606-610.
ABSTRACT  

Reliability of Lifetime Diagnosis: A Multicenter Collaborative Perspective
Andreasen et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1981;38:400-405.
ABSTRACT  

Life Event Reports by Psychiatric Patients, Nonpatients, and Their Partners
Yager et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1981;38:343-347.
ABSTRACT