A Polish Adaptation of the Autobiographical Recollection Test (ART): Toward a Reliable and Valid Measure of Individual Differences in Autobiographical Memory

Abstract

Although previous research has extensively examined the characteristics of specific autobiographical memories, few tools have been available to assess how individuals recall their personal past in general. To address this gap, we adapted into Polish the Autobiographical Recollection Test (ART), a self-report instrument originally designed to capture general autobiographical remembering across seven components: vividness, narrative coherence, reliving, rehearsal, scene construction, visual imagery, and life story relevance. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the factorial validity of the Polish version, demonstrating adequate psychometric properties. The Polish adaptation also showed expected correlations with another self-report measure of autobiographical memory ability (Survey of Autobiographical Memory, SAM), supporting its convergent validity. Furthermore, both the full and brief versions of ART showed significant associations with scores on the Involuntary Autobiographical Memory Inventory (IAMI). These findings provide robust support for the Polish adaptation of ART as a reliable tool for assessing the subjective qualities of autobiographical memory, with potential applications in research on diverse populations.