Childhood abuse recollections in a nonclinical population: forgetting and secrecy

This study investigated the relationship of interrupted memories of childhood abuse with the secrecy of the abuse.

Fifteen hundred people were randomly selected from the membership of the American Counseling Association and sent a questionnaire regarding childhood abuse history. Four hundred and twenty-three usable questionnaires were returned and analyzed.

Thirty-two percent of the sample reported childhood abuse. Fifty-two percent of those reporting abuse also noted periods of forgetting some or all of the abuse. On the two survey items assessing secrecy, 76% of respondents reporting childhood abuse indicated there had been a time when no one but themselves and their abuser knew about the abuse; 47% indicated that an abuser tried to get them to keep the abuse secret. Forty percent endorsed both secrecy items. Respondents who reported forgetting abuse also reported one or both elements of secrecy more frequently than those who reported continuous memories of abuse.

These findings are consistent with those of other studies that suggest that, among adults reporting childhood abuse, the experience of forgetting some or all abuse is common. Secrecy of the abuse appears to be associated with the experience of forgetting childhood abuse for many individuals.