Predictors of Subjective Memory in Young Adults

Subjective memory complaints in young people: the role of resilience

OBJECTIVE

Little is known about the origin and associated factors of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) in the young population, although they might be closely related to the psychophysiological states produced by stress exposure, such as anxiety and depression. In this regard, resilience has been related to a reduction in these negative states, as well as to more adaptive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. We aimed to investigate the importance of depression, anxiety, and HPA axis activity in SMCs in the young population. We also analysed the relationship between resilience and SMCs through the mediation of depression, anxiety, and the cortisol awakening response (CAR).

DESIGN

To do so, we measured SMCs, depression and anxiety states, resilience, and the CAR in 77 healthy young people.

RESULTS

Both depression and anxiety were associated with SMCs. In addition, greater resilience was related to fewer SMCs through depression and anxiety. However, the CAR was not related to SMCs, and it did not mediate the relationship between resilience and SMCs.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that negative affective states have greater importance in SMCs than HPA functioning in this age group, and they also highlight the importance of resilience in the psychological adjustment to stressful situations.

Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire: a comparison of young and older adults

The Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire (MMQ; Troyer & Rich, [2002]. Psychometric properties of a new metamemory questionnaire for older adults. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57(1), P19-P27) is a widely used measure of subjective memory consisting of three scales: Satisfaction, Ability, and Strategies. Although subjective memory complaints are prevalent across different age groups, the factor structure and psychometric properties of the MMQ have yet to be examined in young adults. Here, we independently replicated the original MMQ factor structure in N = 408 young adults (YA) recruited from undergraduate courses and N = 327 older adults (OA) and, for the first time, assessed the age-invariance of the scale using measurement invariance testing. YAs made significantly higher ratings than OAs on MMQ-Satisfaction and MMQ-Strategies, indicating greater satisfaction with their memory and greater use of strategies, but the groups were similar on MMQ-Ability. The original MMQ factor structure was replicated in OAs but not in YAs, and age invariance was not supported. Future studies seeking to compare young and older adults could therefore consider either requesting modification of the MMQ for use with young adults or using a different scale.

Cross validation of the response bias scale and the response bias scale-19 in active-duty personnel: use on the MMPI-2-RF and MMPI-3

The Response Bias Scale (RBS) is the central measure of cognitive over-reporting in the MMPI-family of instruments. Relative to other clinical populations, the research evaluating the detection of over-reporting is more limited in Veteran and Active-Duty personnel, which has produced some psychometric variability across studies. Some have suggested that the original scale construction methods resulted in items which negatively impact classification accuracy and in response crafted an abbreviated version of the RBS (RBS-19; Ratcliffe et al., 2022; Spencer et al., 2022). In addition, the most recent edition of the MMPI is based on new normative data, which impacts the ability to use existing literature to determine effective cut-scores for the RBS (despite all items having been retained across MMPI versions). To date, no published research exists for the MMPI-3 RBS. The current study examined the utility of the RBS and the RBS-19 in a sample of Active-Duty personnel (n = 186) referred for neuropsychological evaluation. Using performance validity tests as the study criterion, we found that the RBS-19 was generally equitably to RBS in classification. Correlations with other MMPI-2-RF over- and under-reporting symptom validity tests were slightly stronger for RBS-19. Implications and directions for research and practice with RBS/RBS-19 are discussed, along with implications for neuropsychological assessment and response validity theory.

Cross validation of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) Cognitive Bias Scale of Scales (CB-SOS) over-reporting indicators in a military sample

Following the development of the Cognitive Bias Scale (CBS), three other cognitive over-reporting indicators were created. This study cross-validates these new Cognitive Bias Scale of Scales (CB-SOS) measurements in a military sample and contrasts their performance to the CBS. We analyzed data from 288 active-duty soldiers who underwent neuropsychological evaluation. Groups were established based on performance validity testing (PVT) failure. Medium effects (d = .71 to .74) were observed between those passing and failing PVTs. The CB-SOS scales have high specificity (≥.90) but low sensitivity across the suggested cut scores. While all CB-SOS were able to achieve .90, lower scores were typically needed. CBS demonstrated incremental validity beyond CB-SOS-1 and CB-SOS-3; only CB-SOS-2 was incremental beyond CBS. In a military sample, the CB-SOS scales have more limited sensitivity than in its original validation, indicating an area of limited utility despite easier calculation. The CBS performs comparably, if not better, than CB-SOS scales. CB-SOS-2's differences in performance in this study and its initial validation suggest that its psychometric properties may be sample dependent. Given their ease of calculation and relatively high specificity, our study supports the interpretation of elevated CB-SOS scores indicating those who are likely to fail concurrent PVTs.

Validation of the personality assessment inventory (PAI) cognitive bias (CBS) and cognitive bias scale of scales (CB-SOS) in a post-deployment veteran sample

Objective: The present study evaluated the function of four cognitive, symptom validity scales on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), the Cognitive Bias Scale (CBS) and the Cognitive Bias Scale of Scales (CB-SOS) 1, 2, and 3 in a sample of Veterans who volunteered for a study of neurocognitive functioning. Method: 371 Veterans (88.1% male, 66.1% White) completed a battery including the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST), the Word Memory Test (WMT), and the PAI. Independent samples t-tests compared mean differences on cognitive bias scales between valid and invalid groups on the M-FAST and WMT. Area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and hit rate across various scale point-estimates were used to evaluate classification accuracy of the CBS and CB-SOS scales. Results: Group differences were significant with moderate effect sizes for all cognitive bias scales between the WMT-classified groups (d = .52-.55), and large effect sizes between the M-FAST-classified groups (d = 1.27-1.45). AUC effect sizes were moderate across the WMT-classified groups (.650-.676) and large across M-FAST-classified groups (.816-.854). When specificity was set to .90, sensitivity was higher for M-FAST and the CBS performed the best (sensitivity = .42). Conclusion: The CBS and CB-SOS scales seem to better detect symptom invalidity than performance invalidity in Veterans using cutoff scores similar to those found in prior studies with non-Veterans.

The role of posttraumatic stress symptoms on memory complaints and performance in active-duty service members

OBJECTIVE

Memory complaints are the most common form of cognitive limitation reported by military service members, but prior research suggests that posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) may account for the link between subjective cognitive complaints and objective cognitive performance. The mechanisms underlying this relationship are largely unknown, including whether the finding applies to memory complaints and performance, which clinical dimensions are involved, and how the association varies when memory complaints are non-credible.

METHOD

Using a sample of 196 US military service members, the present study aims to address these gaps by modeling the relationship between objective memory performance and plausible/implausible subjective memory complaints, then evaluating how the association is influenced by PTSS and clinical traits commonly found within PTSS (e.g. depression, anxiety, and somatic concerns).

RESULTS

Overall memory complaints were associated with immediate and delayed recall, but both associations were fully mediated by PTSS (95% CI -0.14, -0.01; 95% CI -0.14, -0.02, respectively). Implausible memory complaints, however, were inconsistently linked to memory performance, and no PTSS mediation was observed. Of the clinical traits, only depression moderated the impact of PTSS, specifically by influencing the link between PTSS and overall memory complaints (β = -0.02, SE = 0.004, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

These results corroborate the importance of assessment for PTSS and depression in service members who report subjective memory complaints and highlight how targeted intervention for these conditions may play a key role in the management of memory complaints.

Subjective Memory Complaints and Decision Making in Young and Older Adults: An Event-Related Potential Study

Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) may affect decision-making processes. This study aimed to investigate the neuronal correlates of feedback processing during a decision-making task in young and older adults with and without SMCs. Event-related potentials and behavioral performance during the Iowa gambling task were recorded in a total of 136 participants (65 young adults, 71 older adults). The participants were divided into two groups according to their SMCs (with SMCs: n = 60, without SMCs: n = 76). Feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P3 were analyzed in the feedback stage of the decision-making process. Older adults with SMCs scored worse in the ambiguity phase than older adults without SMCs. The FRN latency was longer for losses in older people with SMCs than in older people without SMCs in the first block. No significant differences between young and older adults with and without SMCs were observed in the other ERP measures. Compared to young adults, older adults showed delayed latency in the FRN component and reduced amplitudes and delayed latency in the P3 component. In conclusion, older people with SMCs present deficits in the decision-making process. These deficits are observed at the behavioral level, but also in neural mechanisms of early feedback processing of negative outcomes.

Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of subjectively perceived decline in five cognitive domains: Results from a population-based cohort study in Germany

OBJECTIVE

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) was frequently investigated for memory in healthy aging or in relation to diseases like dementia. It was found to be related to sociodemographic and psychological variables as well as cognitive abilities. The prevalence of SCD in other cognitive domains and their relation to these variables is largely unknown to date. The present study aimed to fill this gap.

METHODS

A total of 807 subjects (18-85 years of age, M = 57.8 years, female: 43%) completed the Juelich Questionnaire on Subjective Cognitive Decline, to investigate SCD in memory, attention, language, motor, and executive functions. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate association of depressive symptomatology, emotionality, and general cognitive performance as well as age, gender, and educational attainment with domain-specific SCD.

RESULTS

The highest prevalence rate was obtained for the memory domain (65.9%), followed by the attention (54.6%), motor (52.9%), executive (39.7%), and language domain (31.5%). Of the psychosocial factors, only age, depressive symptomatology and emotionality were consistently and strongly associated with domain-specific SCD prevalence.

CONCLUSIONS

SCD is prevalent not only in the memory domain, but also in other major cognitive domains. Our results also suggest that the suspicion from previous research, that subjective memory decline might be more strongly associated with depressive symptomatology and emotionality than with actual decline of cognitive performance, might also apply to the attention, motor, executive, and language domain. Further investigations using neuropsychological testing for specific cognitive functions and employing longitudinal designs are required for substantiating this suspicion.

Neuroticism Predicts Reasoning Performance in Young but Not Older Adults

Objective: This study was designed to explore age differences in the relationship of neuroticism with reasoning performance in a representative adult sample.Method: A probability sample of 242 adults (range 25-75 years; M age = 47.57 years) from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) Boston Study of Management Processes were measured on personality and cognition. Using Raven's Progressive Matrices Test as the dependent measure of reasoning, age and neuroticism were entered as independent variables into a hierarchical regression analysis with education and basic cognitive processes (processing speed and working memory) as control variables.Results: Age (younger) and neuroticism (lower) positively predicted reasoning performance. These main effects were further qualified by an age X neuroticism interaction. Younger adults low in neuroticism performed significantly better on reasoning than those high in neuroticism, whereas the relationship of neuroticism with reasoning was not significant for the middle-aged and older adults.Conclusions: Neuroticism affects reasoning performance in young adults but not older adults. Age-related improvements in emotional regulation are suggested as a mechanism for this relationship.

Memory complaints inventory profiles: Differentiating neurocognitive impairment, depression, and non-credible performance

The Memory Complaints Inventory (MCI) is a symptom validity measure designed to assess exaggerated memory complaints. The aim of current study was to develop memory complaint profiles on the MCI to distinguish between various neurocognitive disorders, depression, and non-credible performance. This study utilized MCI scores (N = 244) from a neuropsychology clinic to determine the presence of, and difference between, subjective memory complaints between a depression group, non-credible group, and subgroups of cognitive impairment (Alzheimer's Dementia, Vascular Dementia, and Mild Cognitive Impairment). Significant differences were found on MCI endorsement between cognitive impairment, depression, and non-credible groups. This pattern indicated fewer memory complaints for cognitive impairment groups when compared to depression and non-credible groups; the non-credible group had the highest MCI scores overall. ROC analyses revealed recommended clinical cutoff values with high specificity for distinguishing between the non-credible group and other groups. The findings provided further evidence for the MCI as a symptom validity measure, given its ability to differentiate between a non-credible group and clinical groups. Replication of the study's findings would result in reliable genuine subjective memory complaint profiles to provide additional diagnostic and prognostic specificity in neuropsychological practice.

Correlations Between Personality and Brain Structure: A Crucial Role of Gender

Previous studies have shown that males and females differ in personality and gender differences have also been reported in brain structure. However, effects of gender on this "personality-brain" relationship are yet unknown. We therefore investigated if the neural correlates of personality differ between males and females. Whole brain voxel-based morphometry was used to investigate the influence of gender on associations between NEO FFI personality traits and gray matter volume (GMV) in a matched sample of 182 males and 182 females. In order to assess associations independent of and dependent on gender, personality-GMV relationships were tested across the entire sample and separately for males and females. There were no significant correlations between any personality scale and GMV in the analyses across the entire sample. In contrast, significant associations with GMV were detected for neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness only in males. Interestingly, GMV in left precuneus/parieto-occipital sulcus correlated with all 3 traits. Thus, our results indicate that brain structure-personality relationships are highly dependent on gender, which might be attributable to hormonal interplays or differences in brain organization between males and females. Our results thus provide possible neural substrates of personality-behavior relationships and underline the important role of gender in these associations.

Subjective Memory Complaints in Portuguese Young Adults: Contributions from the Adaptation of the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire

Self-report instruments that allow to characterize the frequency of daily memory failures are essential for a comprehensive assessment of memory functioning. In this context, we aimed to provide preliminary evidence of validity and reliability for the European Portuguese adaptation of the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ). A total of 1052 healthy participants completed an online survey with the PRMQ. The exploration of the construct validity suggested the tripartite model with a general memory, a prospective memory, and a retrospective memory factors to have the best adjustment to the data. Measurement invariance across age and sex groups was also verified. The questionnaire revealed good convergent validity with a general self-report measure of memory (0.778 < r < 0.853), and satisfactory values of internal consistency (0.779 < Cronbach’s alpha < 0.887) and of test-retest reliability (0.815 < r < 0.852). There were no prominent effects of sex and age in the PRMQ scores. Although the sample encompassed mainly younger and highly educated adults, this study presented the first evidence of validity and reliability for the European Portuguese version of the questionnaire.

Predicting personality from network-based resting-state functional connectivity

Personality is associated with variation in all kinds of mental faculties, including affective, social, executive, and memory functioning. The intrinsic dynamics of neural networks underlying these mental functions are reflected in their functional connectivity at rest (RSFC). We, therefore, aimed to probe whether connectivity in functional networks allows predicting individual scores of the five-factor personality model and potential gender differences thereof. We assessed nine meta-analytically derived functional networks, representing social, affective, executive, and mnemonic systems. RSFC of all networks was computed in a sample of 210 males and 210 well-matched females and in a replication sample of 155 males and 155 females. Personality scores were predicted using relevance vector machine in both samples. Cross-validation prediction accuracy was defined as the correlation between true and predicted scores. RSFC within networks representing social, affective, mnemonic, and executive systems significantly predicted self-reported levels of Extraversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Openness. RSFC patterns of most networks, however, predicted personality traits only either in males or in females. Personality traits can be predicted by patterns of RSFC in specific functional brain networks, providing new insights into the neurobiology of personality. However, as most associations were gender-specific, RSFC-personality relations should not be considered independently of gender.

Age does not matter: Memory complaints are related to negative affect throughout adulthood

OBJECTIVES

Memory complaints are present in adults of all ages but are only weakly related to objective memory deficits, raising the question of what their presence may indicate. In older adults, memory complaints are moderately related to negative affect, but there is little research examining this relationship in young and middle-aged adults. This study examined whether memory complaints and negative affect were similarly related across the adult lifespan and in adults with varying levels of objective memory performance.

METHOD

The sample included 3798 healthy adults, aged 18 to 99, and was divided into five groups: young, middle-aged, young-old, old-old, and oldest-old adults. Participants completed questionnaire measures of memory complaints and negative affect (neuroticism and depressive and anxiety symptoms), in addition to lab measures of objective memory.

RESULTS

Using structural equation models, we found that the relationship between memory complaints and negative affect was moderate in all the age groups, and there was no evidence for moderation by objective memory.

CONCLUSION

For adults of all ages, perceived memory decline may be distressing and/or negative affect may lead to negative self-evaluations of memory.

The memory failures of everyday questionnaire (MFE): internal consistency and reliability

The Memory Failures of Everyday Questionnaire (MFE) is one of the most widely-used instruments to assess memory failures in daily life. The original scale has nine response options, making it difficult to apply; we created a three-point scale (0-1-2) with response choices that make it easier to administer. We examined the two versions' equivalence in a sample of 193 participants between 19 and 64 years of age. The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the version we propose were also computed in a sample of 113 people. Several indicators attest to the two forms' equivalence: the correlation between the items' means (r = .94; p < .001) and the order of the items' frequencies (r = .92; p < .001). However, the correlation between global scores on the two forms was not very high (r = .67; p < .001). The results indicate this new version has adequate reliability and internal consistency (r(xx) = .83; p < .001; alpha = .83; p < .001) equivalent to those of the MFE 1-9. The MFE 0-2 provides a brief, simple evaluation, so we recommend it for use in clinical practice as well as research.

Memory complaints inventory and symptom validity test performance in a clinical sample

Previous work in a disability-seeking sample has demonstrated that as symptom validity test (SVT) scores decline, there is a corresponding increase in subjective reports of memory problems as measured by the Memory Complaints Inventory (MCI). The current archival study examined this relationship in a clinical sample of active and retired military service members and their adult family members without overt potential for secondary gain (n= 191). General support for the previously evidenced relationship between SVT performances and MCI responses was found. Select MCI subscales (i.e., Amnesia for Complex Behavior and Amnesia for Antisocial Behavior) were not as strongly correlated with SVT scores as in the previously studied disability-seeking groups. The relationship between performances on an embedded effort measure and MCI scores was not nearly as robust as the relationship between MCI profiles and stand-alone SVTs. The potential clinical implications for these findings are discussed.