Global/Local visual processing and autobiographical memory retrieval and their associations with symptoms of post-traumatic stress and low mood and trait mindfulness in Syrian adult and child refugees

Abstract

The thesis consists of seven empirical studies. Study 1 examined how PTSD, mood and mindfulness would influence global local processing. Child refugees showed higher levels of PTSD symptoms, lower levels of mood and mindfulness, and heightened global bias compared to the controls.

Study 2 extended the investigations of study 1 to adults. The refugees showed higher levels of PTSD symptoms, lower levels of mood and mindfulness, and heightened global bias.

Study 3 investigated age-related differences in global/local processing. Child refugees displayed a marked global bias compared to adults. On the Navon task, when the small target was incompatible with the big target, adult refugees were more accurate than child refugees. Furthermore, adults were quicker than children.

Study 4 examined autobiographical memory retrieval in refugees and controls. The child refugees demonstrated poorer episodic, personal semantic and overall memory retrieval than the controls. The PTSD-memory relationship was moderated by mindfulness and mood.

Study 5 expanded the examinations of study 4 to adults. The refugees demonstrated poorer overall, episodic, and personal semantic recall than the controls. Mindfulness moderated the relationships of mood with overall and episodic memory.

Study 6 investigated age-related differences in autobiographical memory retrieval. In overall and episodic memory, there was no effect for age. However, in personal semantic memory, among refugees, adults had poorer performance than children.

Finally, study 7 assessed local/global processing and interference in accuracy and reaction time across adults and children. Episodic memory was negatively associated with accuracy interference for small targets in children. PTSD and mindfulness in adults potentially moderated the local responses-episodic memory relationship. In children, PTSD potentially moderated the relationship between local responses and both overall and personal semantic memory. Mood potentially moderated the local responses-episodic memory relationship. PTSD significantly moderated the relationships between accuracy interference and overall, episodic and personal semantic memory.

Date of Award	4 Dec 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of St Andrews
Supervisor	Barbara Dritschel (Supervisor) & Michael William Oram (Supervisor)