Trauma and Long-Term Memory for Childhood Events: Impact Matters

Abstract In recent years, society has been stunned by high-profile cases in which adults allege they were sexually victimized in childhood. A crucial issue in these cases is how accurately adults remember the traumatic childhood experiences. In this article, we examine the predictors of the accuracy of adults’ long-term memory for maltreatment and events related to the maltreatment experienced in childhood. First, we discuss memory for negative or threatening information and how child maltreatment may affect memory. Second, we highlight methodological challenges inherent in this scientific inquiry. Third, we describe the findings from our longitudinal research on the accuracy of adults’ memory for child abuse and for subsequent involvement in the legal system. We conclude that, overall, the greater the traumatic impact experienced, the more accurate the later memory, although factors related to development, individual differences, and interviews moderate the effects of childhood trauma on the accuracy of adults’ memory.