Event centrality in social anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder

Event centrality is defined by the extent to which a memory of an event has become central to the individual’s identity and life story. Berntsen and Rubin (Citation2006) proposed that the memory of a traumatic event can form a cognitive reference point in autobiographical knowledge and thereby influence the interpretation of past experiences and expectations for future events. Conceptually, event centrality consists of three aspects: (1) the event is seen as a turning point in life; (2) the event is seen as a reference point for understanding other everyday experiences; (3) the event has become part of the life story and identity. The majority of research on event centrality has centred on its association with trauma-related symptomatology, revealing strong positive correlations with intrusions, avoidance, posttraumatic cognitions, and rumination (Berntsen & Rubin, Citation2006, Citation2007; Boals, Citation2010; Brown et al., Citation2010; Gehrt et al., Citation2018; Vermeulen et al., Citation2019). Moreover, the relation between event centrality and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms may be mediated by these variables (Boelen, Citation2012b; Lancaster et al., Citation2011; Vermeulen et al., Citation2019).