Investigating whether maternal memory specificity is indirectly associated with child memory specificity through maternal reminiscing

ABSTRACT

Maternal reminiscing and remembering has a profound influence on the development of children’s autobiographical remembering skills. The current study investigated the relationships between maternal memory specificity, maternal reminiscing and child memory specificity. Participants consisted of 40 mother–child dyads. Children’s age ranged between 3.5 and 6 years. Mothers and children participated in individual assessments of autobiographical memory specificity. Dyads participated in a joint reminiscing task about three past emotional (happy, sad, stressful) events. A positive moderate association was found between maternal autobiographical memory specificity and child autobiographical memory specificity. Maternal autobiographical memory specificity was significantly correlated with mothers’ focus on the task, involvement and reciprocity, resolution of negative feelings, and structuring of narratives in the mother–child reminiscing task. Moderate positive associations were found between maternal focus and structuring and child memory specificity. There was no evidence to suggest maternal elaborative reminiscing style was significantly positively correlated with mother or child memory specificity. Finally, there was support for an indirect pathway between maternal memory specificity and child memory specificity through quality of support and guidance provided by the mother in maternal reminiscing. Theoretical and clinical implications are considered.

KEYWORDS:

• Autobiographical memory
• mother–child reminiscing
• overgeneral memory
• memory specificity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Laura Jobson http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1534-897X

Notes

1 We also conducted the analyses using non-parametric analyses and a similar pattern of findings emerged.

2 We also conducted the analyses keeping the three event types separate and a similar pattern of results emerged.

3 A similar finding emerged when age was not included as a covariate, r(38) = .29, p = .07, 95%CI[−.04 < r < .62].