Dissociation : Vol. 9, No. 4 (Dec. 1996)

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Browsing Dissociation : Vol. 9, No. 4 (Dec. 1996) by Author "Bowman, Elizabeth S."

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    Dissociation : Vol. 9, No. 4, p. 221-231 : Delayed memories of child abuse: part I: an overview of research findings on forgetting, remembering, and corroborating trauma
    (Ridgeview Institute and the International Society for the Study of Dissociation, 1996-12) Bowman, Elizabeth S.
    This article provides an overview of data from memory research which is clinically relevant to dealing with delayed memories of abuse in dissociative disorder patients. Studies indicate that childhood abuse is partly or completely forgotten by 12%-64% of adults. Amnesia has been consistently associated with earlier abuse, threats, and more types of abuse. Therapy is a factor in memory return in about half of persons, and is the sole trigger in one fourth of cases. Corroboration of delayed memories of child abuse has been found in 47%-74 % of outpatients reporting abuse in 85 %-94 % of dissociative disorder patients, and in 0%-3% of persons reporting ritual abuse. Studies suggest that extreme emotional arousal diminishes recall, but moderate arousal results in accurate enhanced recall of central events. Memories of real life trauma have low suggestibility, throwing doubt on the applicability of laboratory studies of eyewitness memory suggestibility to trauma memories. Implications for therapy are discussed.
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    Dissociation : Vol. 9, No. 4, p. 232-243 : Delayed memories of child abuse: part II: an overview of research findings relevant to understanding their reliability and suggestibility
    (Ridgeview Institute and the International Society for the Study of Dissociation, 1996-12) Bowman, Elizabeth S.
    This article reviews data from four areas of memory research which are clinically relevant to understanding the reliability and suggestibility of delayed memories of abuse in dissociative disorder patients. Research supports the suggestibility of eyewitness memory for non-dramatic events, but not for personally experienced trauma. Hypnosis has been found to increase memory suggestibility and confidence in correct and incorrect memories in laboratory studies, while the accuracy of hypnotically recalled memories in psychotherapy have been highly supported by corroboration. High hypnotizability, however, appears more important than hypnosis in producing laboratory pseudomemories. Autobiographical memory research indicates that the reliability of adulthood memories prior to age three is uncertain, but some traumatic memories from age two persist. Accurate behavioral memories of trauma may persist when verbal ones are absent. Interview techniques greatly affect memory suggestibility, with free recall producing the least suggestibility. Therapists can minimize memory distortions by educating patients about memory reliability, using open-ended questions, avoiding hypnotic recall, using active memory source monitoring, and supportively exploring the reliability of emerging memories.