The AMQ: a four-factor inventory of absentmindedness and memory.

The Absentmindedness and Memory Questionnaire (AMQ) is a new self-rating scale designed to evaluate everyday memory problems related to absentmindedness. It includes 24 items and is based on studies of different samples (N= 623). Its test-retest reliability is high and it has consistently shown similar factor structure. The AMQ thus measures four weakly correlated factors: Absentmindedness, Persons, Locations and Codes/Addresses. Factor analysis further indicates that Absentmindedness may include two subfactors: momentary attention deficit and prospective forgetfulness or impaired agenda memory. Gender differences were found in Persons (Female+) and Locations (Male+) but not in Absentmindedness or Codes/Addresses. The current version of AMQ has seven interindividually comparable response alternatives for each item in the questionnaire. This makes it useful as a measure of subjective absentmindedness or forgetfulness as well as a complementary measure of subjective memory for persons, locations, and codes/addresses/stories, especially at follow-up examinations.