Repressed memory 509678 226094779 2008-07-16T20:17:02Z Rjwilmsi 203434 gen fixes + link/fix date fields in cite templates (explanation [[User:Rjwilmsi#My_correction_of_citation_templates|here]]) using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{totallydisputed}} '''Repressed memory''' is a significant [[memory]], usually of a [[Psychological trauma|traumatic]] nature, that has become unavailable for recall. The term is used to describe memories that have been [[Dissociation (psychology)|dissociated]] from awareness as well as those that have been [[psychological repression|repressed]] without dissociation. The existence of repressed memories is not totally accepted by mainstream psychology, although some studies have concluded that amnesia can occur in victims of trauma.<ref name="widom1"> {{cite journal | last = Widom | first = Cathy Spatz | coauthors = Shepard, Robin L. | year = 1996 | month = December | title = Accuracy of adult recollections of childhood victimization : Part 1. Childhood physical abuse | journal = Psychological Assessment | volume = 8 | issue = 4 | pages = 412–21 | publisher = American Psychological Association | location = Washington, DC, US | issn = 1040-3590 | id = EJ542113 | url = http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ542113&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ542113 | accessdate = 2007-12-18 | doi = 10.1037/1040-3590.8.4.412}} </ref><ref ="widom2"> {{cite journal | last = Widom | first = Cathy Spatz | coauthors = Morris, Suzanne | year = 1997 | month = March | title = Accuracy of Adult Recollections of Childhood Victimization: Part 2. Childhood Sexual Abuse | journal = Psychological Assessment | volume = 9 | issue = 1 | pages = 34–46 | publisher = American Psychological Association | location = Washington, DC, US | issn = 1040-3590 | id = EJ545434 | url = http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ545434&searchtype=keyword&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&objectId=0900019b801126a6&accno=EJ545434&_nfls=false | accessdate = 2007-12-18 | doi = 10.1037/1040-3590.9.1.34}}</ref><ref name="sheflin"> <!-- This study showed 38% based upon criminal records http://books.google.com/books?id=qBSuIMgJLNYC&pg=PA147&vq=sheflin&dq=sheflin+brown+1996+amnesia+%22Repressed+memory+or+dissociative%22&lr=&sig=zCjaGFdaY_qCcNmZtJwFsQRd4YY -->{{cite journal | last = Sheflin | first = Alan W | coauthors = Brown, Daniel |date=1996 | title = Repressed Memory or Dissociative Amnesia: What the Science Says | journal = Journal of Psychiatry & Law | volume = 24 | issue = Summer | pages = 143–88 | issn = 0093-1853 | accessdate = 2007-12-18 }} </ref><ref name="USDVA">{{cite web |url=http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_complex_ptsd.html?opm=1&rr=rr89&srt=d&echorr=true |title=Complex PTSD |author=Julia M. Whealin, Ph.D. and Laurie Slone, Ph.D. |publisher=United States Department of Veteran Affairs |work=National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder}}</ref><ref name="herman119">{{cite book|title=Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence from domestic abuse to political terror |first=Judith Lewis |last=Herman |year=1997| publisher=Basic Books |pages= p119-122 |isbn= 0465087302}}</ref> According to the theory's proponents, repressed memories may sometimes be recovered years or decades after the event, most often spontaneously, triggered by a particular smell, taste, or other identifier related to the lost memory, or via suggestion during [[psychotherapy]].<ref name="dissoc-9-4">{{cite journal|title=Memory recovery of childhood sexual abuse |last=Albach |first=Francine |coauthors=Peter Paul Moormann, Bob Bermond |journal=Dissociation |volume=Vol. 9, No. 4, p. 261-273 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/1794/1774 |date=December-1996 |accessdate=2008-01-03 |issn=0896-2863}}</ref> It is not currently possible to distinguish a true repressed memory from a false one without corroborating evidence.<ref>[http://www.apa.org/topics/memories.html Questions and Answers about Memories of Childhood Abuse], American Psychological Association.</ref> == History == The concept was originated by [[Sigmund Freud]] in his 1896 essay ''Zur Ätiologie der Hysterie'' ("On the etiology of hysteria"). Freud abandoned his theory between 1897 and 1905, replacing it during 1920-1923 with his impulse-based concept of ''[[Ego, super-ego, and id|Id]]'', ''[[Super-ego]]'', and ''[[Ego, super-ego, and id|Ego]]''. [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] was the first to suggest an active, conscious thought management method in the second essay of his [[On the Genealogy of Morals]] as a necessary fundament of efficiency, responsibility, and maturity. Also called '''motivated forgetting''' in which a subject blocks out painful or traumatic times in one's life. == Research == Repressed memory syndrome, the clinical entity used to describe repressed memories, is often compared to [[psychogenic amnesia]], and some sources compare the two as equivalent.<ref name=GL>{{cite journal | url = http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p991137.html | title = Ground lost: The false memory/recovered memory therapy debate | first = A | last = Scheflin | journal = Psychiatric Times | volume = 16 | issue = 11 | date = 1999-11-01 }}</ref><ref name=LeadershipCouncil>{{cite web | url = http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/tm/pr.html | title = Press Release by the Leadership Council: Recovered Memories: True or False? | last = Fink | first = P | accessdate = 2008-02-06 | year = 2005 | publisher = The Leadership Council}}</ref> Some research indicates that memories of [[child sexual abuse]] and other traumatic incidents can be forgotten.<ref name=JournalClinPsy>{{cite journal |author=Williams LM |title=Recall of childhood trauma: a prospective study of women's memories of child sexual abuse |journal=J Consult Clin Psychol |volume=62 |issue=6 |pages=1167–76 |year=1994 |pmid=7860814 |doi=}}</ref><ref name = RMP>{{cite web| url = http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Taubman_Center/Recovmem/ | title = The Archive: 101 Corroborated Cases of Recovered Memory | publisher = The Recovered Memory Project | accessdate = 2008-02-07 | date = 2005-07-01 | last = Cheit | first = RE }}</ref><ref name = LCRT>{{cite web | url = http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/tm/tm.html | title = Research on the Effect of Trauma on Memory | publisher = The Leadership Council | year = 2005 | accessdate = 2008-02-07 }}</ref><ref name=Corrob>{{cite journal | author = Bowman, E.S. | year = 1996 | title = Delayed memories of child abuse: Part I: An overview of research findings on forgetting, remembering, and corroborating trauma | journal = Dissociation | volume = 9 | pages = 221–231}}; lay summary {{cite web |title=Corroboration of child abuse memories | url = http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/abuse/a/cooroborate.htm |accessdate= 2008-01-06 | date = 2006-02-20 | publisher = [[About.com]]}}</ref> Evidence of the spontaneous recovery of traumatic memories has been shown,<ref name=chu>{{cite journal |last=Chu |first=J |coauthors= Frey L, Ganzel B, Matthews J |year=1999 |month=May |title=Memories of childhood abuse: dissociation, amnesia, and corroboration |journal=American Journal of Psychiatry |volume=156 |issue=5 |pages=749–55 |pmid = 10327909|accessdate= 2008-01-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last= Duggal | first= S. |coauthors= Sroufe, L. A. |year = 1998 |title= Recovered memory of childhood sexual trauma: A documented case from a longitudinal study |journal= Journal of Traumatic Stress |volume= 11 |issue= 2 |pages= 301–321 | month = April |url= http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/jots/1998/00000011/00000002/00423218 |accessdate= 2007-12-31 |doi= 10.1023/A:1024403220769}}</ref><ref name=Freyd>{{cite book |last= Freyd |first= Jennifer J. |title= Betrayal Trauma - The Logic of Forgetting Childhood Abuse |year= 1996 |publisher= Harvard University Press |location= Cambridge, MA |isbn= 0-674-06805-x }}</ref> and recovered memories of traumatic childhood abuse have been corroborated.<ref name=Skeptics>{{cite journal |last= Cheit |first= Ross E. |year= 1998 |month= |title= Consider This, Skeptics of Recovered Memory |journal= Ethics & Behavior |volume= 8 |issue= 2 |pages= 141–160 |doi= 10.1207/s15327019eb0802_4 <!--Retrieved from URL by DOI bot--> |url= http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327019eb0802_4?journalCode=eb |accessdate= 2007-12-25}}</ref><ref name=RecalledCSA>{{cite journal |last=Corwin |first=D. |coauthors=Olafson E. |year=1997 |title=Videotaped Discovery of a Reportedly Unrecallable Memory of Child Sexual Abuse: Comparison with a Childhood Interview Videotaped 11 Years Before |journal=Child Maltreatment |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=91–112 |url=http://cmx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/2/2/91 |accessdate= 2008-01-09 | doi= 10.1177/1077559597002002001 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/tm/prev.html Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence: Summary of Research Examining the Prevalence of Full or Partial Dissociative Amnesia for Traumatic Events]</ref><ref name=Corrob/><ref name=JimHopper>{{cite article |url=http://www.jimhopper.com/memory | title = Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse Scientific Research & Scholarly Resources | last = Hopper | first = Jim | accessdate =2007-12-15}}</ref> Although the science of repressed memory is limited, a few studies have suggested that memories of trauma that are forgotten and later recalled have a similar accuracy rate as trauma memories that had not been forgotten.<ref name=GL/> It has been speculated that repression may be one method used by individuals to cope with traumatic memories, by pushing them out of awareness<ref name=LCRT/> (perhaps as an adaptation via [[psychogenic amnesia]]) to allow a child to maintain [[Attachment theory|attachment]] to a person on whom they are dependent for survival.<ref name=Freyd2>{{cite journal |last=Freyd |first=J. |year=1994 |title=Betrayal trauma: traumatic amnesia as an adaptive response to childhood abuse |journal= Ethics & Behavior |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=307–330 |url=http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/articles/freyd94.pdf |accessdate= 2008-01-13 |doi=10.1207/s15327019eb0404_1|format=PDF}}</ref> Researchers have proposed that repression can operate on a social level as well.<ref name=Freyd3>{{cite journal |last= Freyd |first= Jennifer J. |year= 2007 |title= Archiving Dissociation as a Precaution Against Dissociating Dissociation |journal= Journal of Trauma & Dissociation |volume= 8 |issue= 3 |url= http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/articles/freyd2007.pdf |accessdate= 2007-12-29|format=PDF}}</ref> The existence of repressed memories has not been completely accepted by mainstream psychology,<ref name=McNally2004>{{cite journal | author = McNally, R.J. | year = 2004 | title = The Science and Folklore of Traumatic Amnesia | journal = Clinical Psychology Science and Practice | volume = 11 | issue = 1 | pages = 29–33 | doi = 10.1093/clipsy.bph056 | doi_brokendate = 2008-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=McNally RJ |title=Dispelling confusion about traumatic dissociative amnesia |journal=Mayo Clin. Proc. |volume=82 |issue=9 |pages=1083–90 |year=2007 |pmid=17803876 |doi=}}</ref><ref name="pmid15279316">{{cite journal |author=McNally RJ |title=Is traumatic amnesia nothing but psychiatric folklore? |journal=Cogn Behav Ther |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=97–101; discussion 102–4, 109–11 |year=2004 |pmid=15279316 |doi=}}</ref><ref name=Debunking>{{cite journal |author=McNally RJ |title=Debunking myths about trauma and memory |journal=Can J Psychiatry |volume=50 |issue=13 |pages=817–22 |year=2005 |pmid=16483114 |doi=}}</ref> nor unequivocally proven to exist, and some experts in the field of human memory feel that no credible scientific support exists for the notions of repressed/recovered memories.<ref name=amicus>Amicus Curiae brief in {{cite court |litigants=Taus v. Loftus |vol=|reporter= |opinion= |pinpoint= |court=Superme Court of California | date = 2006-02-21 |url=}}</ref> One research report states that a distinction should be made between spontaneously recovered memories and memories recovered during suggestions in therapy. <ref name=Geraerts2007>{{cite journal | author = Geraerts, E. | coauthors = Schooler, J.W.; Merckelbach, H.; Jelicic, M.; Hauer, B.J.A.; Ambadar, Z. | year = 2007 | title = The Reality of Recovered Memories: Corroborating Continuous and Discontinuous Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse | journal = Psychological Science | volume = 18 | issue = 7 |url=http://www.personeel.unimaas.nl/e.geraerts/Geraerts%20et%20al_Psych%20Science%202007.pdf | pages = 564–568 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01940.x |format=PDF}}</ref> van der Kolk and Fisler's research shows that traumatic memories are retrieved, at least at first, in the form of mental imprints that are dissociated. These imprints are of the affective and sensory elements of the traumatic experience. Clients have reported the slow emergence of a personal narrative that can be considered explicit (conscious) memory. The level of emotional significance of a memory correlates directly with the memory's veracity. Studies of subjective reports of memory show that memories of highly significant events are unusually accurate and stable over time. The imprints of traumatic experiences appear to be qualitatively different from those of nontraumatic events. Traumatic memories may be coded differently than ordinary event memories, possibly because of alterations in attentional focusing or the fact that extreme emotional arousal interferes with the memory functions of the hippocampus.<ref name="pmid8564271">{{cite journal |author=van der Kolk BA, Fisler R |title=Dissociation and the fragmentary nature of traumatic memories: overview and exploratory study |journal=J Trauma Stress |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=505–25 |year=1995 |pmid=8564271 |doi= |url=http://www.trauma-pages.com/a/vanderk2.php | accessdate = 2008-03-22}}</ref> == Legal issues == Some criminal cases have been based on a witness' testimony of recovered repressed memories, often of alleged childhood sexual abuse. In some jurisdictions, the [[statute of limitations]] for child abuse cases has been extended to accommodate the phenomena of repressed memories as well as other factors. The repressed memory concept came into wider public awareness in the 1980s and 1990s followed by a reduction of public attention after a series of scandals, lawsuits, and license revocations.<ref name=Robbins>Robbins Susan P., The Social and Cultural Context of Satanic Ritual Abuse Allegations, published in [[Institute for Psychological Therapies]] magazine, vol 10 1998.[http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume10/j10_8.htm]</ref> In a 1996 ruling, a US District Court allowed repressed memories entered into evidence in court cases.<ref name=USCourt1996>923 Federal Supplement 286 (D. Mass. 1996); CIVIL ACTION NO.: 92-12139-EFH MEMORANDUM AND ORDER; May 8, 1996</ref> Jennifer Freyd writes that Ross Cheit's case of suddenly remembered sexual abuse is one of the most well-documented cases available for the public to see. Cheit prevailed in two lawsuits, located five additional victims and tape-recorded a confession.<ref name=Freyd/> == Recovered memory therapy == {{main|Recovered memory therapy}} Recovered memory therapy (RMT) is a term coined by affiliates of the [[False Memory Syndrome Foundation]]<ref name="whitfield56">{{cite book|title=Misinformation Concerning Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Survivors |last= Whitfield |first=Charles L. |coauthors=Joyanna L. Silberg, Paul Jay Fink |pages=p56 |publisher=Haworth Press |year=2001 |isbn= 0789019019}}</ref><ref name="salter">{{cite news | first = Stephanie | last = Salter | title = Feminist Treason and Intellectual Fascism | url = http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/mindnet/mn122.htm | work = [[San Francisco Examiner]] |date=1993-04-07 | accessdate = 2007-12-15 | format = reprint}} </ref><ref name="underwager1">{{cite book | last = Underwager | first = Ralph | authorlink = Ralph Underwager | coauthors = Hollida Wakefield | title = Return of the Furies: An Investigation into Recovered Memory Therapy | year = 1994 | Month = October | publisher = Open Court Pub Co | isbn = 978-0812692716 | pages = 360}}</ref> referring to what they described as a range of [[psychotherapy]] methods based on recalling memories of abuse that had previously been forgotten by the patient.<ref name="lief">{{cite journal | last = Lief | first = Harold I | year = 1999 | month = November | title = Patients Versus Therapists: Legal Actions Over Recovered Memory Therapy | journal = Psychiatric Times | volume = XVI | issue = 11 | url = http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p991136.html}}</ref>The term is not listed in [[DSM-IV]] or used by mainstream [[Psychotherapy#Specific schools and approaches|formal psychotherapy modality]].<ref name="whitfield56"/> The hypothesis that therapy can create [[Confabulation|false memories]] through suggestion techniques is controversial and has been neither proven nor disproven; some research has shown evidence supporting the hypothesis; and, the evidence is questioned by some researchers.<ref name=Memory&Law>{{cite book |author=Hammond, D. Corydon; Brown, Daniel P.; Scheflin, Alan W. |title=Memory, trauma treatment, and the law |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |year=1998 |pages= |isbn=0-393-70254-5 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> <ref name="whitfield56"/><ref name="Brandon">{{cite journal |author=Brandon S, Boakes J, Glaser D, Green R |title=Recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. Implications for clinical practice |journal=Br J Psychiatry |volume=172 |issue= |pages=296–307 |year=1998 |pmid=9722329 |doi=}}</ref> Even when patients who decide their recovered memories are false and retract their claims, they can suffer [[posttraumatic stress disorder]] due to the trauma of illusory memories.<ref name=Lambert>{{cite web | first = K | last = Lambert | coauthors = Lilienfeld SO | url = http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=4338D296-E7F2-99DF-3D7F5370B4FB5D10 | publisher = [[Scientific American]] | title = Brain Stains | date = 2007-10-01 | accessdate = 2008-01-25}}</ref> The number of reported retractions is small when compared to the large number of actual child sexual abuse cases.<ref name="Whitfield">{{cite book | last = Whitfield M.D. | first = Charles L.| title = Memory and Abuse - Remembering and Healing the Effects of Trauma | publisher = Health Communications, Inc | date = 1995 | location = Deerfield Beach, FL |pages = 375 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=z1LW3u1e04YC&dq=whitfield+memory+and+abuse&pg=PP1&ots=Q_GZ1Yy1iE&sig=ivzKYWTrLhVa3HODty7kwIuJp0Y&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Whitfield+Memory+and+Abuse&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail | isbn = 1-55874-320-0}}</ref> Some have suggested that a child may retract their story of abuse due to guilt, a feeling of obligation to protect their family or may be reacting to the familial stress brought on by their allegations.<ref name="Summit">{{cite journal |last= Summit |first= R. |year= 1983 |month= |title= The child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome |journal= Child Abuse & Neglect |volume=7 |issue= |pages=177–193|doi= 10.1016/0145-2134(83)90070-4}}</ref> ==See also== *[[Dissociative identity disorder]] *[[Interference theory]] *[[Memory inhibition]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{dmoz|Society/Issues/Health/Mental_Health/Memory_Controversies}} [[Category:Freudian psychology]] [[Category:Memory]] [[Category:Memory disorders]] [[ja:抑圧された記憶]] [[pl:Wyparcie]] [[uk:Репресія (психоаналіз)]]