MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE - REMEMBERING AND REPRESSING

Women involved in out-patient treatment for substance abuse were inter viewed to examine their recollections of childhood sexual abuse. Overa ll, 54% of the 105 women reported a history of childhood sexual abuse. Of these, the majority (81%) remembered all or part of the abuse thei r whole lives; 19% reported they forgot the abuse for a period of time , and later the memory returned. Women who remembered the abuse their whole lives reported a clearer memory, with a more detailed picture. T hey also reported greater intensity of feelings at the time the abuse happened. Women who remembered the abuse their whole lives did not dif fer from others in terms of the violence of the abuse or whether the v iolence was incestuous. These data bear on current discussions concern ing the extent to which repression is a common way of coping with chil dhood sexual abuse trauma, and also bear on some widely held beliefs a bout the correlates of repression.