Factors influencing recall of childhood sexual abuse

Abstract

Selective literatures providing perspective on recall of childhood sexual abuse memories are reviewed. These include known patterns of autobiographical memories in adulthood, metacognitive mechanisms, interpersonal influences, and automatic cognitive processing which can influence judgments and reports of memory recall in children and adults. Some factors in adult experience such as mood state, presence of emotional disorders, past and current relationships, and participation in psychotherapy which can influence autobiographical memory and recall of childhood events are delineated. Available studies directly exploring recovered memories of childhood abuse are considered in light of these studies. Finally, some applications to clinical work and suggestions for future research are outlined.

Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adults Who Experienced Maltreatment During Childhood

“…Memories of events that occurred before age 3.5 years are very unlikely to be recalled and memories from the 3.5-to 6-year age range are also less likely to be recalled than those that occurred during a later age. 54 Older age when the maltreatment ended, maternal support following the disclosure of maltreatment, and more-severe maltreatment have all been found to be associated with an increased likelihood of disclosure. 55,56 Another probable source of bias in our study relating to retrospective self reports of childhood maltreatment was that some cases of maltreatment may not have been selfidentified.…”

A comparison of normal forgetting, psychopathology, and information-processing models of reported amnesia for recent sexual trauma.

“…Alternatively, if normal forgetting does not explain recall deficits for recent traumatic memories, then perhaps the presence of competing psychopathology (Rogers, 1995) or global distress better accounts for recall deficits. Increased psychopathology was associated with recall deficits for childhood sexual abuse memories (Briere & Conte, 1993;Elliott & Briere, 1995) and for traumatic memories of Operation Desert Storm in Gulf War veterans (Southwick, Morgan, Nicolaou, & Charney, 1997).…”

“…Using a nontreatment-seeking sample of recent adult female victims of sexual assault, we evaluated several hypotheses based on three competing explanatory models of memory for sexual trauma: (a) simple forgetting, (b) psychopathology, and (c) information processing. First, a model proposing simple forgetting as the mechanism by which recall deficits occur was evaluated with the following hypotheses: (a) If memory for traumatic events operates in a fashion similar to memory for ordinary events, then recall of traumatic memories from the sexual assault would be expected to decrease over time, and (b) if simple forgetting is the appropriate explanation for traumatic recall deficits, then recall deficits should be generalized (i.e., problems recalling the traumatic event should not be trauma specific).Alternatively, if normal forgetting does not explain recall deficits for recent traumatic memories, then perhaps the presence of competing psychopathology (Rogers, 1995) or global distress better accounts for recall deficits. Increased psychopathology was associated with recall deficits for childhood sexual abuse memories (Briere & Conte, 1993;Elliott & Briere, 1995) and for traumatic memories of Operation Desert Storm in Gulf War veterans (Southwick, Morgan, Nicolaou, & Charney, 1997).…”