False attribution of suggestibility to explain recovered memory of childhood sexual abuse following extended amnesia


False attribution of suggestibility to explain recovered memory of
childhood sexual abuse following extended amnesia - Frank Leavitt -
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume 21, Issue 3, March 1997, Pages 265-272
Abstract: Suggestibility is central to arguments proffered by critics
of recovered memory of childhood sexual abuse who believe that
memories involving amnesia are false creations of treatment. The
present study represents the first direct investigation of
suggestibility among patients who report recovered memory.
Suggestibility was measured in 44 patients who recovered memories and
in a 31 patient comparison group without a history of sexual trauma
using the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale. Results indicated that
patients who recover memories were remarkably less suggestible than
the clinical field has been led to believe by advocates of false
memory. As a group, they scored low on suggestibility. Recovered
Memory patients yielded to suggested prompts an average of 6.7 times
per case. This compares to an average of 10.6 in the Psychiatric
comparison group. Paradoxically, patients without a history of sex
abuse were more at risk for altering memory to suggestive prompts.
These findings appreciably challenge advocated theories of suggested
memory. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(96)00171-8
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