The Negative Impact of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder on Working Memory of Icelandic University Students

Working memory is a complex cognitive system essential for everyday living. It is important for all kinds of cognitively demanding activities such as reading, writing and carrying out conversations. Working memory capacity has been compared to a resource that ,,feeds'' working memory. Is the ability to keep information active in working memory while at the same time inhibit irrelevant information. Individuals with higher working memory capacity get less disturbed by previously learned information while performing cognitive tasks and they are better at managing their attention and get less distracted by environmental stimulus. Recent studies revealed that individuals with experience of trauma and PTSD diagnosis have memory impairment and lack concentration in regular life situations, indicating impairment in working memory. The present study measured working memory and symptoms of PTSD among Icelandic university students at Reykjavík University. As expected, participants with PTSD showed significantly worse performance on OSPAN and Backward Digit Span than participants without PTSD. Participants with PTSD performed worse on immediate and delayed recall than participants without PTSD. Participants with PTSD performed better on Forward Digit Span than participants without PTSD.

Author dc:creator

• Hekla Diljá Hlynsdóttir 1994-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskólinn í Reykjavík

• Sálfræði
• Vitsmunasálfræði
• Minni
• Áfallastreita
• Psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Memory
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/30681

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/30681