Accusations by Adults of Childhood Sexual Abuse: a Survey of the Members of the British False Memory Society (BFMS)

Abstract

SUMMARYMembers of the British False Memory Society (BFMS) were sent a detailed questionnaire concerning accused families and 282 (70%) replied. In this paper the author focuses on the nature, circumstances, and consequences of the accusations for the accused, as well as the role of therapy. The great majority (87%) of the accusers were female and most of the accusations were directed against the biological father. Only four per cent involved stepfathers. Often the accusations were non-specific and not all were reported as being associated with recovered memories. The accusations appear to have arisen primarily within the context of a therapeutic relationship. Depression, followed by eating disorder, were the most common reasons for seeking therapy. Significant relationship problems were reported as the most common stress factor prior to the accusations being made. The author emphasizes the complex nature of the accusations and distinguishes between beliefs and memories within the context of recovered memories. The reported consequences of the accusations were discontinued contact with the family (59%), legal proceedings being instigated (14%), and the accused person having to seek psychological or psychiatric help because of the stress involved (29%).

False Memory Syndrome and the Retractors: Methodological and Theoretical issues

“…This is unlikely to be the case and de Rivera oversimplifies the reality of the situation. In my study of BFMS members (Gudjonsson, 1997a(Gudjonsson, , 1997b(Gudjonsson, , 1997c, several families stated that their case did not allegedly involve recovered memories and sometimes the memories emerged without therapy. In many other cases, the families did not even know whether the accusations were associated with recovered memories and therapy.…”

“…Indeed, we have no way of knowing from the article whether the cases selected are representative of the more than 300 retractors referred to in the article out of a total of 5,85 1 cases from the files of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF). This represents a retraction rate of 5%, which is similar to that found in a recent study I conducted (Gudjonsson, 1997a) of 282 members of the British False Memory Society (BFMS). I found that 4% of the accusers had retracted all the accusations and a further 5% had retracted some of the accusations.…”

“…For example, Beth appears to have had a false belief without the accompanied false memory. I point out (Gudjonsson, 1997a) that a person can develop the belief that he or she has been sexually abused without having any memory of it. A similar distinction is found in relation to cases of coerced-internalized false confession (Gudjonsson, 1992(Gudjonsson, , 1995Gudjonsson & Lebegue, 1989;Ofshe, 1989).…”

“…Haraldsson found that the previous-life memories children had more disturbed relationships with their parents than the controls. Gudjonsson (1997a) found among the Downloaded by [Columbia University] at 23:10 11 December 2014 BFMS members that relationship problems were the most common stressor precipitating the accusations. Interestingly, FMSF and BFMS members are typically well educated and from high socioeconomic backgrounds (Gudjonsson, 1997b;Wakefield & Underwager, 1992), which corresponds with the superior school performance of the previous-life experiences children in Haraldsson's study.…”

“…Similarly, coaccusing siblings also may be a powerful source of reinforcement for the accusations. I found (Gudjonsson, 1997a) that in about 10% of cases one or more siblings were also involved in the accusations. In cases of coerced-internalized confession, a false belief is most likely to happen when suspects are repeatedly presented with the interrogator's own unfounded scenario, which undermines the suspects' confidence in their memory, simultaneously isolating them from their family, friends, and attorney.…”