NCJ Number
196259
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2002 Pages: 226-240
Date Published
August 2002
Length
15 pages
Annotation
By retrospectively surveying 1,411 college women, this study examined the frequency with which temporary forgetting was reported for child sexual abuse experiences contrasted with other childhood abuse and traumas, as well as how victims characterized their forgetting experiences in terms of various competing cognitive mechanisms.
Abstract
As part of a larger survey study, experiences of and memory for childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, and trauma were assessed in three sections of the Personal History Questionnaire. All participants who stated that they experienced abuse or trauma were asked, "Was there ever a time when you could not remember your experience?" Those who answered affirmatively were asked additional questions that explored the details of the memory lapse. Overall, 26 percent (n=372) of the respondents reported at least one instance of childhood sexual abuse. In addition, 27 percent (n=386) of the sample reported experiencing physical abuse, and 54 percent reported one or more other types of trauma. The study found that rates of forgetting were similar among victims who experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, and multiple types of traumas. Victims of other types of childhood traumas (e.g., car accidents) reported less forgetting than victims of childhood sexual abuse or multiple types of trauma. Most victims' characterizations of their forgetting experiences were not indicative of repression in the classic Freudian sense, but instead suggested other more common mechanisms, such as directed forgetting and relabeling. The implications of these findings for psychological theory, clinical practice, and law are discussed. 2 tables, 3 notes, and 96 references