Association of overgeneral autobiographical memory with personality impairment, pathological trait domains, and the borderline pattern specifier in a female psychiatric sample.

Abstract

The proposed model of personality disorder in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision (ICD-11) comprises ratings of the severity of self and interpersonal impairment, pathological trait domains, and a borderline pattern specifier. The incremental validity of the different components of the model has primarily been studied in relation to symptoms, traits, and psychosocial functioning, whereas associations with cognitive- and identity-related factors have not yet been characterized. The present study investigated the unique associations of each component of the ICD-11 model with overgeneral autobiographical memory, which reflects aspects of identity integration and episodic memory retrieval. Female general psychiatric patients (n = 196) completed self-report measures of the ICD-11 model (Level of Personality Functioning Scale-Brief Form 2.0, Personality Inventory for ICD-11, and Borderline Pattern Scale) and the Autobiographical Memory Test. In bivariate analyses, overgeneral autobiographical memories were associated with more severe self and interpersonal impairment, higher pathological personality traits (except for lower Anankastia), and more severe borderline pattern scores. Hierarchical regressions indicated that both self and interpersonal impairments, pathological traits (especially negative affectivity), and maladaptive regulatory strategies (a component of the borderline pattern) were uniquely and incrementally associated with overgeneral memories. Overall, these findings reveal the personality disorder components that underlie overgeneral autobiographical memories within a transdiagnostic female psychiatric sample. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).