This study was designed to investigate empirically clinical assumptions regarding hypothesized deficits in self-development associated with early interpersonal trauma. A sample of 110 undergraduates completed a protocol involving interviews and questionnaires related to trauma history, dissociation, early autobiographical memory, and schematic self-representation. Impairment in self-functioning was explored relative to hypothesized deficits in early memory and self-representation and related tendencies for dissociation. Significant levels of trauma were found, as 68% of participants reported trauma at some point during the lifetime; however, no differences were found between trauma and no-trauma groups, and the hypotheses were not supported. The only clearly interpretable significant findings suggested that: (1) memories that participants labeled as traumatic were more elaborated than all other memories; and (2) individuals with more severe traumas showed greater elaboration in childhood memories than did individuals with less severe traumas.