The concurrent relationship of specific and detailed turning points and young adults' depressive symptoms: the moderating role of recollective experience.

Recalling either a specific (unique, 24 h or less) turning point memory narrative or a turning point with greater episodic detail (who, when, where and what happened) has been shown to predict higher youth depressive symptoms. The current research with emerging adults (N = 195, M = 20.5 years), therefore examined first the relationships of specific and detailed turning points with depressive symptoms, and second, whether recollective memory qualities moderated the association. We hypothesised that both a specific turning point and greater episodic detail would each predict depressive symptoms when rated as more vivid, emotionally intense, intrusive, negative valence for self, and recalled with greater negative emotions. Moderation results partially supported our predictions. The positive association between specific turning points and depressive symptoms was significant only under high ratings of intrusiveness, negative valence for self, and a greater proportion of negative emotions during recall. In addition, the positive association between episodic detail and depressive symptoms was significant only under greater negative emotions during recall, whereas other self-ratings were not significant moderators. These findings shed light on the critical role of negative affect in the relationship between specific and detailed turning point narratives and higher concurrent depressive symptoms in emerging adults.