Three types of memory for childhood sexual abuse: relationships to characteristics of abuse and psychological symptoms.
ABSTRACT. Data from a clinical sample (N = 88) reporting childhood sexual abuse was compared by types of memory, abuse characteristics, and psychological symptoms. Three types of memory were identified from a questionnaire ("Always" n = 27 [31%], "Recovered" n = 41 [46%], and "Both" n = 20 [23%]). When compared with narrative reports from a subset (n = 30) of the sample, the lines between "Always," "Recovered," and "Both" types of memory were ambiguous. Consistency across reports, however, was 83%. Memories classified as either "Recovered" or "Both" were associated with earlier age-at-onset and more severe psychological symptoms compared to those who "Always" remembered CSA. No significant differences were found between the "Both" and "Recovered" groups.
Crowley
M Sue
MS
Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA. scrowley@binghamton.edu
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D013404:Suggestion