Development of an autobiographical memory test for older electroconvulsive therapy candidates

Objectives: To develop a test of autobiographical memory for monitoring of older people during a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Method: A list of events commonly experienced in later life was gathered from older people (n = 26) at a psychogeriatric day clinic and from psychiatrists (n = 23) who work with older depressed patients. The most common events were chosen as question domains for an autobiographical memory interview. This was piloted with 12 severely depressed older patients.

Results: A list of 15 common life events was developed. After pilot testing, a final 30-item questionnaire covering six common life events was proposed.

Conclusion: This study developed an autobiographical memory test with good face validity and potential for clinical use. It was modelled on a well-validated scale (The Columbia University Autobiographical Memory Interview, CUAMI-SF) and represented a useful first step in the development of a test for memory loss in older patients receiving ECT. The proposed test may be particularly sensitive to autobiographical memory loss in older people undergoing ECT because it uses recent personal memories, which are relatively commonly experienced in the older depressed population.