Stability and Change in Life Narratives by Elderly Adults With Alzheimer's Dementia, Depression, and Healthy Controls

ABSTRACT Autobiographical memory is affected by Alzheimer's dementia and depression in old age. We suggest that cognitive decline in Alzheimer's dementia affects both the life narrative construction of personal stability and change, whereas the decline of vitality in depression affects only the construction of change, but not stability of personal identity. Elderly adults with Alzheimer's dementia ( N = 21), major depression ( N = 20), and healthy controls ( N = 20) did not differ in age ( m age = 76.9 years, range 65–94), gender (33 women), or education (mean years = 12.0) narrated their entire lives and provided turning point and self‐defining memory narratives. Individuals with Alzheimer's dementia were indeed affected both in indicators of stability and change. Individuals with depression produced more negative life narratives but unexpectedly did not differ from healthy controls in narrative indicators of personal change. Possibly, the expected reduction of personal change in life stories is limited to very severe depression in younger adults.