Trait mindfulness and autobiographical memory specificity

Training in mindfulness skills has been shown to increase autobiographical memory specificity. The aim of this study was to examine whether there is also an association between individual differences in trait mindfulness and memory specificity using a non-clinical student sample (N = 70). Also examined were the relationships between other memory characteristics and trait mindfulness, self-reported depression and rumination. Participants wrote about 12 autobiographical memories, which were recalled in response to emotion word cues in a minimal instruction version of the Autobiographical Memory Test, rated each memory for seven characteristics, and completed the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the Ruminative Responses Scale. Higher rumination scores were associated with more reliving and more intense emotion during recall. Depression scores were not associated with any memory variables. Higher trait mindfulness was associated with lower memory specificity and with more intense and more positive emotion during recall. Thus, trait mindfulness is associated with memory specificity, but the association is opposite to that found in mindfulness training studies. It is suggested that this difference may be due to an influence of trait mindfulness on memory encoding as well as retrieval processes and an influence on the mode of self-awareness that leads to a greater focus on momentary rather than narrative self-reference

The effects of local and global factors on the comprehension of pronouns

The factors influencing the comprehension of pronouns at a local sentence level and at a global text level were examined with the purpose of satisfying six aims. The first and primary aim was to explicate the relationship between local and global influences on pronoun comprehension. At the sentence level, the subject of the sentence had an important effect (especially on the assignment of ambiguous pronouns), there was a strong influence of a gender cue and a general knowledge factor, gender bias, affected assignment even in the presence of a gender cue. When sentences were embedded within text, there was an additional effect of the discourse topic. The second aim concerned the difference between the comprehension of single sentences and of texts. Results indicated that conclusions drawn from single sentence experiments should not be generalised to texts. The third aim investigated some of the factors which signal the discourse topic: Frequency of mention, initial mention in a passage and the title were all important and the effect of the topic on pronoun assignment was graded, depending on the number of factors signalling the topic. The fourth aim was to clarify whether the deep or surface subject was critical for pronoun comprehension. The deep subject was more important in passive sentences, but this result may not generalise to active sentences. The fifth aim was to investigate whether the effects of local subject and global topic were top-down or bottom-up. The effect of the topic appeared to be top-down, while the subject's effect showed elements of both types of processing. The final aim investigated the role of general knowledge in pronoun comprehension. The results suggested that inferences from general knowledge are always made during comprehension. Some proposals are made on the basis of these results and further hypotheses arising from them are considered

Recovering from stillbirth: the effects of making and sharing memories on maternal mental health

Objective: This study examined whether the experience of creating and sharing memories of their babies is associated with mothers’ mental health after stillbirth, taking account of factors previously shown to be important. Background: Mothers of stillborn babies are usually offered the opportunity to spend time with and create memories of their babies. However, evidence on whether this leads to better mental health outcomes is equivocal. One possible explanation is that the impact of making memories is mediated by the extent to which women subsequently share these memories. Methods: Cross-sectional questionnaire study. Mothers (N = 162) of stillborn babies completed online questionnaires of how memories were made and shared, satisfaction with memory-making and sharing, professional and social support, and symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD. Results: The majority of mothers made and shared memories. The number of different memory-making activities was not associated with mental health outcomes. However, the degree to which mothers shared their memories was associated with fewer PTSD symptoms. Regression analyses showed that good mental health was most strongly associated with time since stillbirth, perceived professional support, sharing of memories and less wish to talk more about the baby. Conclusion: This study confirms research showing that time since stillbirth and perceived professional support is associated with better mental health following stillbirth and for the first time shows the importance of opportunities to share memories of the baby. Variation in sharing opportunities may contribute to inconsistencies in the association between making memories and mental health following stillbirth

Evaluation of expressive writing for postpartum health: A randomized controlled trial

Pregnancy, birth and adjusting to a new baby is a potentially stressful time that can negatively affect the health of women. There is some evidence that expressive writing can have positive effects on psychological and physical health, particularly during stressful periods. The current study aimed to evaluate whether expressive writing would improve women’s postpartum health. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with three conditions: expressive writing (n=188), a control writing task (n=213), or normal care (n=163). Measures of psychological health, physical health and quality of life were measured at baseline (6-12 weeks postpartum), 1 month and 6 months later. Ratings of stress were taken before and after the expressive writing task. Intent-to-treat analyses showed no significant differences between women in the expressive writing, control writing and normal care groups on measures of physical health, anxiety, depression, mood or quality of life at 1 and 6 months. Uptake and adherence to the writing tasks was low. However, women in the expressive writing group rated their stress as significantly reduced after completing the task. Cost analysis suggest women who did expressive writing had the lowest costs in terms of healthcare service use and lowest cost per unit of improvement in quality of life. Results suggest expressive writing is not effective as a universal intervention for all women 6-12 weeks postpartum. Future research should examine expressive writing as a targeted intervention for women in high-risk groups, such as those with mild or moderate depression, and further examine cost-effectiveness

Feasibility and acceptability of expressive writing with postpartum women: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract Background: Pregnancy, birth and adjusting to a new baby is a potentially stressful time that can negatively affect women’s mental and physical health. Expressive writing, where people write about a stressful event for at least 15 minutes on three consecutive days, has been associated with improved health in some groups but it is not clear whether it is feasible and acceptable for use with postpartum women. This study therefore examined the feasibility and acceptability of expressive writing for postpartum women as part of a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Methods: The Health After Birth Trial (HABiT) was an RCT evaluating expressive writing for postpartum women which included measures of feasibility and acceptability. At 6 to 12 weeks after birth 854 women were randomised to expressive writing, a control writing task or normal care, and outcome measures of health were measured at baseline, one month later and six months later. Feasibility was measured by recruitment, attrition, and adherence to the intervention. Quantitative and qualitative measures of acceptability of the materials and the task were completed six months after the intervention. Results: Recruitment was low (10.7% of those invited to participate) and the recruited sample was from a restricted sociodemographic range. Attrition was high, increased as the study progressed (35.8% at baseline, 57.5% at one month, and 68.1% at six months) and was higher in the writing groups than in the normal care group. Women complied with instructions to write expressively or not, but adherence to the instruction to write for 15 minutes per day for three days was low (Expressive writing: 29.3%; Control writing: 23.5%). Acceptability measures showed that women who wrote expressively rated the materials/task both more positively and more negatively than those in the control writing group, and qualitative comments revealed that women enjoyed the writing and/or found it helpful even when it was upsetting. Conclusions: The feasibility of offering expressive writing as a universal self-help intervention to all postpartum women 6 to 12 weeks after birth in the HABiT trial was low, but the expressive writing intervention was acceptable to the majority of women who completed it

Stillbirth and stigma: The spoiling and repair of multiple social identities

This study investigated mothers' experiences surrounding stillbirth in the United Kingdom, their memory making and sharing opportunities, and the effect these opportunities had on them. Qualitative data were generated from free text responses to open-ended questions. Thematic content analysis revealed that "stigma" was experienced by most women and Goffman's (1963) work on stigma was subsequently used as an analytical framework. Results suggest that stillbirth can spoil the identities of "patient," "mother," and "full citizen." Stigma was reported as arising from interactions with professionals, family, friends, work colleagues, and even casual acquaintances. Stillbirth produces common learning experiences often requiring "identity work" (Murphy, 2012). Memory making and sharing may be important in this work and further research is needed. Stigma can reduce the memory sharing opportunities for women after stillbirth and this may explain some of the differential mental health effects of memory making after stillbirth that is documented in the literature