Due to how highly disturbing abuse experiences are many people engage in avoidance behavioural strategies as a response. Some people may suppress the memories so well that it will be hard for them to retrieve them.

Inevitably, however, most of the time these experiences keep affecting the emotions, thoughts,  mood, and even future decisions of the victims.

Still, the recovery of childhood sexual abuse memories has been a controversial topic. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the retrieval of childhood sexual abuse memories.

This article will cover the following points:

• What is considered childhood sexual abuse?
• The recovered-memory perspective
• The false-memory perspective
• A third perspective

What is considered childhood sexual abuse?

Childhood sexual abuse is defined as engaging in sexual activity with a child (who does not fully comprehend and thus is unable to give consent OR is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent)[2. It is a sensitive topic troubling society. One claim of childhood sexual abuse is reported to child protective services every 9 minutes [7].

Child molestation includes child marriage, child pornography, child sexual exploitation, inappropriate exposure, and sexual activities with a child. Females are usually more likely to be victims of such abuse, while most of the perpetrators are males. The effects can be both short and long-term, physiological and psychological stressors.

            A childhood sexual abuse experience is not only frightening at that moment, but it can also lead to long-term consequences affecting mental [3,5] and physical [4] health. Victims may show decreased social activity, conduct problems, as well as problems regarding learning and development. Some of these effects include depression, anxiety, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, self-esteem problems, problems when coping with stress, substance use problems, as well as neurobiological deficiencies. Child sexual abuse acts as a risk factor for such problems, which means that individuals who are victims are more likely to develop them.

The effects and the range of effects of child molestation depend on several factors [3] such as the severity of the event. The higher the severity of the event, the more intense and the wider the range of the effects. Another factor is how often the event occurred. The more often it happened, the higher the likelihood for the range of effects to be wide. The relationship with the abuser should also be considered: the closer the relationship, the deeper the trauma.

Recovered-memory perspective

 The first hypothesis on the retrieval of child sexual abuse memories is named “recovered-memory perspective”. This perspective supports that some victims repress those memories [6]. That is, victims try to “transfer” these memories to their unconscious part of their memory system instead of consciously reliving them. Why?

The childhood sexual abuse experiences are extremely mentally frightening. To fight this fear that the memories recreate, victims are willing to bring those memories back to the surface a long-time later after the event happened. These experiences can be very hard to talk about and people are often open to disclosure only when being in a safe environment [6]. A safe environment can include people who victims feel close to, that being a therapist, a family member, or a friend.

False-memory perspective

The second hypothesis is called the “false-memory perspective”. It has been found that many child molestation claims are false memories [6]. Having a false memory means that such an event did not actually happen, and therefore, is not accurate. The basis for this interpretation is that. highly emotional memories are usually more memorable than non-emotional ones. One may, therefore, ask themselves "but if it did not happen, then where are those memories coming from"

The explanation offered by this perspective is related to the therapists' influence. During a therapy session, psychotherapists can inadvertently suggest to their clients that they might have been childhood sexual abuse victim [6]. This may be done through the questions posed by the therapist, by methods such as hypnosis or, even simply by the way and direction the therapist leads the conversation to. The client unconsciously integrates this suggestion with reality, creating a false recollection of events.

Therapists should therefore be very cautious in suggesting the occurrence of such an experience.

However, this perspective has been highly criticized because it is hard to determine whether a memory is false or not. In case it was to be true, we risk invalidating and doubting the experience, ultimately increasing the adverse consequences of the trauma.

A third perspective

Even though it was previously suggested that child sexual abuse experiences are frightful to most, some hypothesize that victims did not experience the event as traumatic [6]. How can that happen?

Especially in cases of child sexual abuse, the child may not have the tools or the moral compass to understand that what is happening is wrong. They may recall it as ambiguous or uncomfortable but not as traumatic. Hence, they suppress the memory to avoid this discomfort without properly analyzing the event. Reappraising the event in retrospect and understanding its traumatic nature brings with it a lot of negative emotions.

It has been found that some victims did not think about their abuse for a long time, or even forgot about their previous memories.  This reduces the negative emotions that could be generated from the recall of the memory, and so, makes it easier for the victim to cope with this experience.

Who is less likely to recall such events?

Individuals who never mentioned their abuse to anyone are less likely to bring it up in a conversation [6]. Besides, in case the abuser moved further away from the place the sexual abuse took place, it is less likely for the victim to recall the memory [6]. In the same manner, in case the abuser died, it is again less likely for the victim to remember their child sexual abuse experience [6].

A safe environment should be created for the victims to speak up and share their experiences to feel supported and take the first step towards their healing process.

Additional Resources:

1. Healing Adult Survivors of Child Abuse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5viOYkM4CRE

• Child Sexual Abuse: Trauma & Recovery After Child Abuse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP-t0p7wNzY

References

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
2. Committee Opinion No. 498: Adult Manifestations of Childhood Sexual Abuse. (2011). Obstetrics & Gynecology, 118(2), 392–395. https://doi.org/10.1097/aog.0b013e31822c994d
3. Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division. (2013). Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Mental Health Issue | Here to Help. Heretohelp. https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/infosheet/childhood-sexual-abuse-a-mental-health-issue#how
4. De Bellis, M. D., & Zisk, A. (2014). The Biological Effects of Childhood Trauma. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 23(2), 185–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2014.01.002
5. Hall, M., & Hall, J. (2011). The long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse: Counseling implications. http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas11/Article_19.pdf
6. McNally, R.J., Geraerts, E. (2009). A New Solution to the Recovered Memory Debate. National Library of Medicine, 4(2), 126-34.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01112.x
7. RAINN. (n.d.). Children and Teens: Statistics. https://www.rainn.org/statistics/children-and-teens