Individual differences in suggestibility: Examining the influence of dissociation, absorption, and a history of childhood abuse

This study examined how individual differences in dissociation, absorption and a history of abuse are related to memory and suggestibility for the det ails of a personally experienced, known event. One hundred and thirty colle ge students took part in a staged event and completed the Dissociative Expe riences Scale (DES), the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS), and questions abo ut each participant's history of childhood abuse. One week after the staged event and initial testing, the students were questioned about the event. D issociation and absorption were significantly related to errors on misleadi ng questions but unrelated to errors on specific (non-misleading) questions . Reports of a history of child abuse were also related to dissociation and absorption but were generally unrelated to event memory or resistance to m isleading information. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.