Memories Of Sexual Abuse Research Articles

Recovering Memories of Trauma

The controversy over the validity of repressed and recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been extraordinarily bitter. Yet data on cognitive functioning in people reporting repressed and recovered memories of trauma have been strikingly scarce. Recent laboratory studies have been designed to test hypotheses about cognitive mechanisms that ought to be operative if people can repress and recover memories of trauma or if they can form false memories of trauma. Contrary to clinical lore, these studies have shown that people reporting CSA histories are not characterized by a superior ability to forget trauma-related material. Other studies have shown that individuals reporting recovered memories of either CSA or abduction by space aliens are characterized by heightened proneness to form false memories in certain laboratory tasks. Although cognitive psychology methods cannot distinguish true memories from false ones, these methods can illuminate mechanisms for remembering and forgetting among people reporting histories of trauma.

Emotional Closeness with Perpetrators and Amnesia for Child Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT Over the past decade, a contentious debate regarding delayed memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has existed. In order to address this debate, 240 female participants completed questions about CSA, the Dissociative Experience Scale (Bernstein & Putnam, 1986), Perceived Emotional Closeness with Perpetrator Scale (Schultz, Passmore, & Yoder, 2000), and the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale 2 (GSS 2) (Gudjonsson, 1987). Eighty-two (36%) reported CSA and 37% of these indicated memory disturbances for the CSA. Participants reporting memory disturbances also reported significantly higher numbers of perpetrators, chemical abuse in their families, and closer relationships with the perpetrator(s) than participants reporting no memory disturbances. Implications for clinicians working with clients reporting CSA are discussed.

Pictures and silences: memories of sexual abuse of disabled people

The article de–individualises the debate about sexual abuse of disabled people, especially women, by showing that both the sexual and asexual identity of impaired persons are invariably fashioned within the institutional arrangement of domination and subjugation. It shows that if disabled persons are seen as asexual or if they are sexualised, they cannot escape sexual violence, which is not an aberration, but is intrinsic to the social construction of disability. The article includes personal testimonies of women with different disabilities from Slovenia, who were abused either at home or in public care and shows some responses of the professionals and caregivers who minimise the importance of abuse. It claims that ignoring the memories of sexual abuse is part of a subtle and unintentional discrimination, which reflects a continuity of prejudices and hatred toward disabled children and adults in the private realm as well as in public care. People from ethnic minorities, such as Roma, are still today more often diagnosed as mentally disabled, which shows that the disability diagnosis has to be seen as part of cultural responses towards an economically and socially marginalised group. The author uses different perspectives: historical, social work theories, cultural studies and feminist analysis.

A Qualitative Case Study of Two Chemically Dependent Women With Compulsive Sexual Behaviors

The purpose of this research study is to gain a better understanding of chemically dependent women who have no memory of sexual abuse but who have a pattern of sexual acting out behaviors which may be indicative of abuse. Two chemically dependent women were interviewed on three different occasions for 2.5 hours at each meeting. The research questions addressed with each of the two subjects in this study were as follows: (1) What are the patterns and characteristics of these women? and, (2) How do these women describe their family of origin? These women had both experienced verbal and emotional abuse growing up in their family of origin but neither has a remembered experience of overt sexual abuse. Subjects for this qualitative study were selected through purposeful sampling. The major findings from this study-of mother as unsafe, tensions and stress in the family of origin, and isolation-are all supported in the literature related to families and children of alcoholics. More specifically, these findings are well documented by experts in the chemical dependency field as well as researchers within the field of marriage and the family. Findings within these two individual case studies were supported in the literature on sexual addiction. Marie s theme of use of church activity is part of Carnes (1983) description of the cycle of shame where a sexual addict will, after a period of acting out sexually, feel shame and remorse. This acting out period then is followed by a time of sexually acting in by being good and therefore providing the individual with some relief from the shame and guilt. Janice s individual theme of first getting drunk and then acting out sexually is described in the literature on chemically dependent women as addictive sexual behavior where the behavior (or the experience through the behavior) is addictive, as opposed to being a sexual addict.

Progress and controversy in the study of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been notable for controversy as well as progress. This article concerns the evidence bearing on the most contentious issues in the field of traumatic stress: broadening of the definition of trauma, problems with the dose-response model of PTSD, distortion in the recollection of trauma, concerns about "phony combat vets," psychologically toxic guilt as a traumatic stressor, risk factors for PTSD, possible brain-damaging effects of stress hormones, recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse, and the politics of trauma.

Alliance Protection

Couples in which one or both members have experienced childhood sexual abuse may be at risk for relational problems. Women with active memories of childhood sexual abuse were interviewed in this multiple method study. Analysis revealed key findings including valuing relational bonds, managing stressful conditions within the relational context, meeting self-preservation needs, and maintaining external ties. These themes were identified as strategies to protect the relationship, which unfolded as a process of alliance protection. Implications for practice include the importance of relationship therapy for women remembering childhood sexual abuse, the necessity for family professionals working with these couples to have knowledge of trauma theory, and the usefulness of the concept of alliance protection for working effectively with traumatized couples.

Crisis or Creation? A Systematic Examination of False Memory Syndrome

SUMMARY In 1992, the False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF), an advocacy organization for people claiming to be falsely accused of sexual abuse, announced the discovery of a new syndrome involving iatrogenically created false memories of childhood sexual abuse. This article critically examines the assumptions underlying “False Memory Syndrome” to determine whether there is sufficient empirical evidence to support it as a valid diagnostic construct. Epidemiological evidence is also examined to determine whether there is data to support its advocates' claim of a public health crisis or epidemic. A review of the relevant literature demonstrates that the existence of such a syndrome lacks general acceptance in the mental health field, and that the construct is based on a series of faulty assumptions, many of which have been scientifically disproven. There is a similar lack of empirical validation for claims of a “false memory” epidemic. It is concluded that in the absence of any substantive scientific support, “False Memory Syndrome” is best characterized as a pseudoscientific syndrome that was developed to defend against claims of child abuse.

Implications of the Memory Controversy for Clinical Practice: An Overview of Treatment Recommendations and Guidelines

SUMMARY The controversy surrounding delayed and recovered memories of incest/child sexual abuse has had a profound impact on clinical practice. This article first provides an overview of the positions taken by both sides in the dispute, the “false memory proponents and the traumatic stress proponents”. It then presents the major findings of several of the professional task forces charged with reviewing the controversy and arriving at recommendations for research, clinical practice, and forensic practice regarding delayed recall of memories for sexual abuse. The current status of scientific and clinical knowledge is discussed, especially in terms of its implications for therapists and clinical practice. Nineteen recommendations and practice guidelines are presented for therapists working with individuals who report or suspect childhood sexual abuse on the basis of continuous and/or recovered memory.

Recovered memories of sexual abuse.

Recovered memories of sexual abuse.

Memory of childhood sexual abuse among clinicians: characteristics, outcomes, and current therapy attitudes.

This paper reports preliminary data on a sample of therapists with memory of childhood sexual abuse. Therapists who reported experiencing childhood sexual abuse (CSA, n = 131) were compared with therapists who suspected sexual abuse but had no memories (n = 24) on variables related to abuse characteristics, outcomes, and perceived difficulties working with clients with a CSA history. Therapists who suspected abuse, in contrast to those who made definite reports, were more likely to report that the perpetrator was a family member, that their CSA did not involve physical contact, that there was alcoholism in their families of origin, and that the CSA had negative effects on their relationships with their own children, ability to trust others, sexual satisfaction, and work life. Therapists who suspected abuse also reported more difficulty treating CSA clients because of interpersonal pulls during sessions, arousal without memories of abuse, and some countertransferential behaviors. These findings indicate that issues related to personal trauma should be addressed during training and practice.

Fact or fantasy? A review of recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse

More than a century ago Freud provoked a bitter controversy concerning alleged recollections of childhood sexual abuse: Were they fact or fiction? This debate is still ongoing, with some professionals stubbornly holding on to deeply entrenched and polarised positions. On the one side there are those who continue to deny the veracity of all 'recovered memories', and thus also of the implicated psychological defenses of repression and dissociation. At the other extreme are those therapists who simplistically assume that particular symptoms invariably imply sexual abuse. Over the decades there is a growing corpus of anecdotal, clinical and, more recently, research evidence supporting the contention that childhood sexual abuse, like all other trauma, can be forgotten for days, and even for many years, before being recalled. However, the reconstruction of these memories is a complex and, at times, a rather fallible process.

Who Is Indoctrinating Whom?

Who Is Indoctrinating Whom?

The Cognitive Psychology of Repressed and Recovered Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Clinical Implications

The Cognitive Psychology of Repressed and Recovered Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Clinical Implications

What makes recovered-memory testimony compelling to jurors?

Little is known about how jurors arrive at verdicts in cases involving recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. Study 1 investigated mock jurors' reactions to the recovered-memory testimony of an alleged victim when a therapist intervened with hypnosis, suggestion, or symptom management. When a therapist used hypnosis, jurors viewed the victim's recovered-memory testimony as particularly accurate and credible, and favored the victim in their verdicts. In Study 2, mock jurors were presented with a therapist who was sued for allegedly influencing a client's recall of false memories of abuse. In this case, however, jurors viewed therapists who used hypnosis or suggestion as more likely to have created false memories, more responsible for having caused harm, and less competent, and tended not to favor these therapists in their verdicts. We discuss these seemingly contradictory findings in terms of how culturally formed expectancies about hypnosis produce different causal explanations depending on the focus of a trial.

Recovered Memories of Child Sexual Abuse: Psychological, Social, and Legal Perspectives on a Contemporary Mental Health Controversy

Recovered Memories of Child Sexual Abuse: Psychological, Social, and Legal Perspectives on a Contemporary Mental Health Controversy

A guide to providing care for survivors of child sex abuse

The actual prevalence of women who were sexually abused in childhood is estimated as being 1 in 5, with some studies suggesting 1 in 3. Pregnancy can trigger memories of forgotten childhood sexual abuse which makes a survivor feel that they have lost control of their bodies. They may use coping mechanisms such as repudiation of the fetus, leading to possible harm of the fetus. Suicidal thoughts are also evident, reflecting their low self-esteem. Survivors need to be empowered so that they can take back control of their bodies. The midwife is in an ideal position to empower women who have been sexually abused, because of her close, privileged relationship. This article discusses aspects of care and how the midwife can promote positive experiences of pregnancy and childbirth for women who have been sexually abused in childhood.

Directed forgetting of trauma cues in adults reporting repressed or recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Directed forgetting of trauma cues in adults reporting repressed or recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Truthfulness, Deception and Self-Deception in Recovering True and False Memories of Child Sexual Abuse

The recovered-memory/false-memory debate focuses on theoretical issues pertaining to the plausibility of total repression, denial and subsequent full recovery of traumatic memories of childhood sexual abuse. Proponents and opponents of recovered memory therapy are divided in regard to the question whether recovered memories are true or false. Supporters of the ‘recovered memory hypothesis’, which states that memories of sexual abuse can be repressed and then recovered, consider the memories authentic, whereas supporters of the ‘false memory hypothesis’ who do not believe that total repression and subsequent full recovery are possible, consider the memories false. In the present paper a proposal is put forward to conceptualize the debate in terms of deception and self-deception. Within this framework, claimants of recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse might be considered truthful by supporters of the ‘recovered memory hypothesis’, and self-deceivers by supporters of the ‘false memory hypothesis’. Self-deception is viewed as a split between a given cognitive subsystem and the rest of the system. The split must not necessarily be dynamically driven.

Personality profiles, dissociations, and absorption in women reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Personality profiles, dissociations, and absorption in women reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Gender Politics: The Focus on Women in the Memory Debates

ABSTRACT This commentary examines how the politics of gender have influenced and shaped the modern debates over sexual abuse and memory. It explores the level of scrutiny applied to women accusers, the language used to characterize women within the debate, and why the sexual abuse memories of women have become the specific and focused target of “false memory proponents and the media”. A comparison is made between tactically similar backlash movements against women and feminism.