NCJ Number
208450
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 139-147
Date Published
February 2002
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined patterns of forgetting and remembering childhood sexual abuse in a sample of adult women in the United States.
Abstract
The past decade has seen a vigorous debate regarding whether incidents of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) can be forgotten and subsequently recalled, either alone or with the assistance of others. One of the most contentious aspects of this debate is the notion that psychotherapists may influence suggestible clients into “remembering” CSA that never actually occurred. The current study sought to document patterns of forgetting and remembering CSA among a nationally representative sample of 711 women, aged 26 to 54 years, who were residing in the United States in 1996. During face-to-face interviews, participants were asked about any experiences of sexual coercion by family members or nonfamily members during childhood. Interviews also focused on whether the participants believed they had been sexually abused and whether they believed they had forgotten about the CSA and subsequently remembered it. Results of statistical analyses indicated that 21 percent of the sample reported having been sexually coerced as children. Of these sexually coerced women, 69 percent reported they thought they suffered CSA. Over one-quarter of those who thought they experienced CSA also reported forgetting the abuse and subsequently remembering it on their own. Only 1.8 percent of the self-described CSA victims reported remembering the abuse with the assistance of a therapist or other professional. The findings thus suggest that forgetting and subsequently remembering incidents of CSA is not an uncommon phenomenon and is generally not the result of manipulations by therapists. Future research should focus on the process of remembering CSA. Table, references