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Original Articles

An item response theory/confirmatory factor analysis of the Autobiographical Memory Test

, , , , , , & show all
Pages 609-623
Received 03 Sep 2008
Published online: 06 Jul 2009
 

The Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) is used to assess the degree of specificity of autobiographical memory. The AMT usually contains cue words of both positive and negative valence, but it is unclear whether these valences form separate factors or not. Accordingly, confirmatory factor analysis assessed whether the AMT measures one overall factor, or whether different cue types are related to different factors. Results were consistent across three datasets (N = 333, N = 405, and N = 336). A one-factor model fitted each dataset well, which suggests that responses to positive and negative cues are related to the one construct. In addition, item response theory analyses showed that the AMT is most precise for people who score low on memory specificity. Implications for using the AMT with high-functioning samples are discussed.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the National Institutes of Health for supporting our research (Grant# R01MH065652 to Drs Zinbarg and Mineka, and R01MH065651 to Dr Craske), and we acknowledge the assistance of countless undergraduate and graduate students for their help in collecting and processing our data. We would also like to thank an anonymous reviewer for his or her helpful comments.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elise Debeer

Elise Debeer is a Research Assistant of the Research Foundation, Flanders