SynthesisPsychological bulletin2018
Can't get it out of my mind: A systematic review of predictors of intrusive memories of distressing events.
Synthesis in Psychological bulletin, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The relationship between language features and PTSD symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental methods for modulating intrusive memories following lab-analogue trauma exposure in non-clinical populations.Nature human behaviour · 2024Pooled it
- Oxytocin vs. placebo effects on intrusive memory consolidation using a trauma film paradigm: a randomized, controlled experimental study in healthy women.Translational psychiatry · 2023Trial
- Convergent validation of the Involuntary Autobiographical Memory Inventory across levels of analysis in a Polish sample.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Evaluating image modification as a harm reduction approach in content moderation.Psychological research · 2026Article
- Microstructural Integrity of Hippocampal-Posterior Cortical White Matter Is Associated With Phenomenological Properties of Trauma-Related Intrusive Memories.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2026Article
- Characterisation of intrusive memories and prediction from memory-related genes and cognitive and emotional factors.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- From Screens to Scars: Understanding the Association Between Social Media Engagement and Trauma During Crises and Emergency Situations.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025Article
- A network analysis of 'thinking a lot': Connections to childhood trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder among men who have sex with men in Vietnam.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2025Article
- Chilling and Blurring Negative Memories: An Experimental Memory Training Study.Basic and clinical neuroscience · 2025Article
- The impact of the BDNF Val66Met genotype on intrusive memories following trauma exposure and in PTSD is moderated by sex and timing of trauma exposure.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Self-injurious behavior in Greek adolescents: the role of mental health problems and COVID-19 trauma.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Going Beyond Explicit Memories: Future Steps and Considerations in the Research of Symptom-Relevant Negative Autobiographical Memories in Anxiety Related Disorders.Clinical psychology : a publication of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association · 2025Article
- Targeted memory reactivation during sleep improves emotional memory modulation following imagery rescripting.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- From pregnancy to the postpartum: Unraveling the complexities of symptom profiles among trauma-exposed women.Journal of affective disorders · 2024Article
- Integrating and fragmenting memories under stress and alcohol.Neurobiology of stress · 2024Article
- Disentangling boredom from depression using the phenomenology and content of involuntary autobiographical memories.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Neural signatures of default mode network subsystems in first-episode, drug-naive patients with major depressive disorder after 6-week thought induction psychotherapy treatment.Brain communications · 2024Article
- Cumulative Trauma Exposure and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms among Older Adults in South Africa: Does Post-Traumatic Growth Moderate this Link?Journal of aggression, maltreatment & trauma · 2024Article
- Narrative-based autobiographical memory interventions for PTSD: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Intrusive memories, when persistent and distressing, are theorized to underlie a range of transdiagnostic psychological symptoms and associated impairment. However, little is known about factors predicting the development and persistence of intrusive memories. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the literature on pre-event, event-based, and post-event predictors of intrusive memories. A systematic review was conducted, searching for studies that examined intrusive, event-based memories. One hundred and six articles were identified from PsycInfo, PubMed, and Medline databases. Experimental and prospective studies with clinical (N = 14) and nonclinical (N = 92) samples were critically reviewed, provided the inclusion of an analogue stressor with nonclinical samples, and that intrusive memories frequency and/or distress were assessed as primary dependent variables. Pre-existing psychopathology and pre-event appraisal style appear to predict intrusive memories (small to medium effects), whereas trait dissociation did not predict intrusive memories. Of studies examining event-based predictors, higher data-driven processing appears to predict intrusive memories with generally large effects. Post-event negative appraisals consistently predicted intrusive memories (medium to large effects), and preliminary evidence suggests higher post-event conceptual processing predicting fewer intrusive memories. This review synthesizes findings regarding a broad range of pre-event, event-based, and post-event factors that may influence the development of intrusive memories. Methodological issues of current paradigms and the lack of emphasis on memory retrieval processes limit our understanding of what predicts intrusive memory persistence. These limitations are particularly important given that individuals typically seek treatment for distressing intrusive memories once a memory has been fully consolidated, where retrieval processes are of utmost importance. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.