Future events, early experience, and mental health: clinical assessment using the anticipated life history measure. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • This study's goals were (a) to provide convergent validity for the Anticipated Life History measure (ALH), an instrument prompting participants to describe their future life course from their 21st birthday until their death, and (b) to assess the impact of early experience and early memories on the ALH. The ALH narratives were coded for the presence and/or absence of future life events and for five clinical features (Narrative Integrity, Depression, Fantasy Distortion, Impulsivity, and Malevolence) using a detailed scoring manuaL A sample of 285 young adults completed the ALH and a battery of cognitive, mood, and life events measures. The results confirm the utility of this new instrument: Participants whose ALH scored high on the clinical measures also had higher levels of current depression, lower quality-of-life satisfaction, reported more negative early life experiences, and recounted negative early memories.

publication date

  • March 1, 2003

Research

keywords

  • Life Change Events
  • Mental Health
  • Projective Techniques

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0037528820

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1177/1073191102250186

PubMed ID

  • 12675381

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 10

issue

  • 1