The experience of "forgetting" childhood abuse: a national survey of psychologists

J Consult Clin Psychol. 1994 Jun;62(3):636-9. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.62.3.636.

Abstract

A national sample of psychologists were asked whether they had been abused as children and, if so, whether they had ever forgotten some or all of the abuse. Almost a quarter of the sample (23.9%) reported childhood abuse, and of those, approximately 40% reported a period of forgetting some or all of the abuse. The major findings were that (a) both sexual and nonsexual abuse were subject to periods of forgetting; (b) the most frequently reported factor related to recall was being in therapy; (c) approximately one half of those who reported forgetting also reported corroboration of the abuse; and (d) reported forgetting was not related to gender or age of the respondent but was related to severity of the abuse.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child Abuse / psychology*
  • Child Abuse, Sexual / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Recall*
  • Middle Aged
  • Repression, Psychology*