Are memories for sexually traumatic events "special"? A within-subjects investigation of trauma and memory in a clinical sample
Faculty Advisor
Date
2008
Keywords
sex crimes, emotional trauma, memory disorders, sexual abuse victims, traumatic shock, posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD
Abstract (summary)
According to a long-standing clinical tradition, sexually traumatic experiences are processed and recalled differently from other experiences, often leading to memory impairment. In this study, we compared the characteristics of traumatic memories for sexual violence and two other types of emotional experiences. N=44 women recruited from a local sexual trauma agency were asked to recall and describe three autobiographical events: sexual abuse/assault, a non-sexual trauma, and a positive emotional event. The characteristics of the three memory types were compared on both subjective and objective measures. Further, the potential influences of level of traumatic impact and dissociation were assessed. Results indicated that memories for sexual trauma were not impaired or fragmented relative to other memories. Instead, memories for sexual trauma were associated with a remarkably high level of vividness, detail, and sensory components. Further, high levels of traumatic impact were not associated with memory impairment. Implications for the ongoing traumatic memory debate are discussed.
Publication Information
Peace, K. A., & Porter, S., & ten Brinke, L. (2008). Are memories for sexually traumatic events “special”? A within-subjects investigation of trauma and memory in a clinical sample. Memory, 16, 10-21. doi: 10.1080/09658210701363583
Notes
Item Type
Article
Language
English
Rights
All Rights Reserved