NCJ Number
203491
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: 2003 Pages: 67-88
Editor(s)
Robert Geffner Ph.D.
Date Published
2003
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study examined factors that may be related to amnesia for childhood sexual abuse (CSA).
Abstract
Over the past decade, a contentious debate regarding delayed memories of CSA has existed. Some researchers believe that dissociation plays a role in the development of amnesia regarding CSA, while other researchers reject this notion. Still others have looked at the relationship between experiences of betrayal in relationships and memory recall of CSA. In an attempt to more fully understand other factors that may be related to amnesia for CSA and to add empirical data to the delayed memories controversy, the goals of this study were to (a) examine the impact of various factors purported to be related to amnesia, as well as familial chemical abuse and (b) assess Freyd’s Betrayal Trauma Theory. Participants in the study were 240 students, 18 to 26 years of age, recruited from a small, Midwestern, Christian liberal arts college. Data were collected through initial questionnaires. Students who indicated CSA prior to age 18 (n=87) were contacted for follow-up interviews. Eighty-two students completed the follow-up session. Of these 82 participants, 51 (62 percent) reported no amnesia (NA group) and 31 (37 percent) reported full or partial amnesia (FPA group). Incestuous abuse was indicated by 53 percent of the FPA group and 27 percent of the NA group. Analysis of the results shows that participants reporting a period of time when they were unable to remember the CSA did not indicate higher levels of dissociation compared to participants reporting that they always remembered the abuse. In addition, the study found that women reporting a phenomenologically closer relationship with the perpetrator(s) were more likely to report full or partial amnesia for the CSA. This finding is consistent with Freyd’s (1997) Betrayal Trauma Theory, which proposes that “the degree of amnesia will be a function of the degree of betrayal.” Further, the findings indicate that participants who reported chemical abuse among family members were more likely to report memory disturbances for the CSA. In summary, memory disturbances for sexual abuse are common among a subpopulation of individuals, and it appears that there is no single predisposing factor associated with the development of amnesia. Yet, women were more likely to report amnesia for sexual abuse when they were closer with their perpetrator, had higher numbers of perpetrators, and when familial chemical abuse occurred. Future research efforts in this area are warranted. 4 tables, 75 references, and 1 appendix