NCJ Number
177796
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: March 1999 Pages: 35-46
Date Published
March 1999
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The past and current memory for childhood sexual abuse reported by 160 women survivors who were receiving psychotherapy was assessed through the use of a structured clinical interview.
Abstract
The participants had all sought outpatient psychotherapy and were identified during the intake interview as appropriate for admission to a community mental health center's treatment program for adult survivors of sexual abuse. Response alternatives for memory were ordered along a continuum. The participants were interviewed as early in therapy as possible to minimize the effects of treatment. Results revealed that 26.3 percent of the participants reported fairly complete recollection both in the past and currently, 36.9 percent apparently lost and subsequently recovered memories of experiencing child sexual abuse, and 36.9 percent endorsed intermediate degrees of memory. Only 2.5 percent indicated a decrease in the degree of recollection over time. The age at onset was the only abuse characteristic that differentiated participants with fairly complete memory from the rest of the sample. Findings indicated that conclusions about memory for abuse are highly dependent on the way that inquiries are conceptualized and worded. Table, figures, and 14 references (Author abstract modified)