The debate regarding the reality of repressed and recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has occurred almost entirely uninformed by data on memory functioning in individuals reporting recovered memories of CSA. The purpose of the proposed research, therefore, is to test hypotheses about memory in women who either 1) report recovering memories of CSA that have been corroborated, 2) report recovering memories of CSA that have not been corroborated, 3) report never having forgotten their abuse, 4) report believing that they harbor repressed memories of abuse, or 5) report never having been exposed to CSA. Proponents of both the recovered memory and false memory perspectives agree that people who report recalling long- forgotten memories of CSA differ cognitively from those who report never having forgotten their abuse. Proponents of the first perspective suggest that people reporting (corroborated) recovered (or repressed) memories of CSA are characterized by impairments in autobiographical memory and by heightened ability to forget disturbing material relative to people reporting continuous abuse memories or no history of abuse. Proponent of the second perspective hold that people reporting (uncorroborated) recovered memories of CSA are characterized by deficits in reality monitoring (ability to distinguish perceived events from imagined events) and by proneness to """"""""recalling"""""""" events that never happened to them. Four laboratory experiments are proposed that test each of these hypotheses, and a fifth study designed to identify individual difference variables (e.g., fantasy proneness, imagery ability) that predict performance in these memory tasks is proposed.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH061268-04
Application #
6773327
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-5 (01))
Program Officer
Kozak, Michael J
Project Start
2001-09-24
Project End
2006-06-30
Budget Start
2004-07-01
Budget End
2006-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$244,500
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
082359691
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02138
McNally, Richard J (2007) Mechanisms of exposure therapy: how neuroscience can improve psychological treatments for anxiety disorders. Clin Psychol Rev 27:750-9
McNally, Richard J (2006) Applying biological data in the forensic and policy arenas. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1071:267-76
McNally, Richard J; Perlman, Carol A; Ristuccia, Carel S et al. (2006) Clinical characteristics of adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse. J Consult Clin Psychol 74:237-42
McNally, Richard J; Clancy, Susan A (2005) Sleep paralysis in adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse. J Anxiety Disord 19:595-602
McNally, Richard J; Clancy, Susan A; Barrett, Heidi M et al. (2005) Reality monitoring in adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse. J Abnorm Psychol 114:147-52
McNally, Richard J; Ristuccia, Carel S; Perlman, Carol A (2005) Forgetting of trauma cues in adults reporting continuous or recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. Psychol Sci 16:336-40
McNally, Richard J (2005) Troubles in traumatology. Can J Psychiatry 50:815-6
McNally, Richard J (2005) Debunking myths about trauma and memory. Can J Psychiatry 50:817-22
McNally, Richard J; Clancy, Susan A (2005) Sleep paralysis, sexual abuse, and space alien abduction. Transcult Psychiatry 42:113-22
McNally, Richard J (2004) Is traumatic amnesia nothing but psychiatric folklore? Cogn Behav Ther 33:97-101; discussion 102-4, 109-1

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