Specific topics, specific symptoms: Linking the content of recurrent involuntary memories to mental health using computational text analysis

Using a previously validated computational approach (structural topic modeling), we identified coherent topics (e.g., “Conversations”, “Experiences with family members”) in recurrent IAMs. Specific topics (e.g., “Negative past relationships”, “Abuse and trauma”) were uniquely related to symptoms of mental health disorders (e.g., depression, PTSD), above and beyond the self-reported valence of these memories. Importantly, content in recurrent IAMs was distinct across symptom types (e.g., “Communication and miscommunication” was related to social anxiety, but not symptoms of other disorders), suggesting that while negative recurrent IAMs are transdiagnostic, their content remains unique across different types of mental health concerns.

Recommended citation: Yeung, R. C., & Fernandes, M. A. (2023). Specific topics, specific symptoms: Linking the content of recurrent involuntary memories to mental health using computational text analysis. npj Mental Health Research, 2(22), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-023-00042-x