Exploring the dimensions of autobiographical memory: a validation of the Autobiographical Recollection Test (ART) for the European-Portuguese language

The Autobiographical Recollection Test (ART) assesses individual differences in the subjective phenomenology of autobiographical remembering across seven dimensions of recollection. The present study adapted and validated the European-Portuguese ART (ART-PT) in a sample of 303 adults. Following standardised translation and back-translation procedures, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to examine whether the original seven-factor structure generalised to the European-Portuguese language. The seven-factor model demonstrated an excellent fit, with all items loading significantly on their intended factors. A higher-order factor structure also showed a comparable fit, consistent with previous validations. Internal consistency was high for the total scale at both administrations (ω = .95 and .96) and satisfactory to excellent for all subscales. Test– retest reliability over a three-week interval (n = 83) was acceptable for the full scale (r = .73). Convergent validity analyses revealed small to moderate associations between ART-PT scores, vividness of visual imagery, and self-reported memory lapses, in theoretically expected directions. Together, the findings confirm that the ART-PT is a reliable, valid, and culturally robust instrument for assessing subjective autobiographical memory in European-Portuguese. This adaptation expands the methodological tools available for cross-cultural research on the phenomenology of autobiographical memory, providing a theoretically grounded measure suitable for cognitive, developmental, and clinical applications.