Controversy Surrounding Repressed And Recovered Memories In Psychology And Neuroscience

What are recovered/repressed memories, and what is the controversy surrounding these types of memories? Provide evidence “for” and “against” recovered/repressed memories. 

Understanding Memory and Engram Exploration

Understanding memory, the exploration of engram has been known as the sacred grail of psychology and neuroscience. Several researchers have been persistently seeking for explanations to varied aspects of the way memory functions for decades. Patihis, Lilienfeld, Ho and Loftus (2014) have noted that in the last decade psychologists have immersed themselves in one of the most highly contentious debates to date. Some individuals have denied that repressed and recovered memories tend to have an impact on real and impactful effect on individuals, their families as well as legal system, an insufficient amount of reliable evidence have been found for massive repression.

According to Patihis et al. (2014) have noted that at the end of the 19th century, Sigmund Freud had popularized the term repression to explain a mechanism by which unbearably traumatic events have been are pushed into a certain unapproachable corner of the unconscious and which have the tendency to return to consciousness. Such a process, however, has been assumed to engage certain factors other than the usual forgetting and remembering thus has been defined as massive repression or robust repression. The following essay will critically argue on the controversy the way repressed memories have often been overlooked and forgotten which further raised its controversy.

The argument over the reality or of repressed memories which have been repressed into an unconscious psychodynamic area of the mind has been continuing since Freud’s theoretical explanations. Howe and Knott (2015) have noted that the majority of psychologists have persuaded that repression of memories cannot occur. However, on the other hand, a number of psychiatrists, psychologists have shown equal assertions regarding that these supposedly unconscious memories can be recovered by suitable therapy and to the benefits and gains of the individual. Unfortunately, several recent discourses of the issue have become highly complex whereby several psychologists only have been taking into account allegedly repressed or recovered memories in the context of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA). Conway et al. (2014) have noted that any adult female psychological challenges have been caused by traumatic abuses of CSA. However, unprofessional therapists have further contributed to such an influenced attitude in which they presuppose without evidence, CSA to be root implication of adult female clients’ problems. These factors, however, have led the therapists to claim that these abuses to those clients tend to be acquired false memories of such assault, in the majority of cases accusing any male members of the family. Such a controversy has turned out to be legal, taking sides and irascible, and has not supported a rational scientific examination of the fundamental concept of repressed memories (Davis & Loftus, 2014). 

The Theory of Repression

Few discussions in the history of the psychological field have been arguably similar to the supposedly repressed and recovered memories related to childhood sexual abuse. A substantial amount of individuals have taken into account their detrimental events of sexual abuse experienced during childhood after not being considered on the subject of their abuse for several years. Porter and Baker (2015) have identified two noticeably polarized interpretations which have conquered the debate. Moreover, as per repression understanding, some sufferers of CSA show incapacity of recalling their abuse events until it is emotionally secured for them to do so after a significant period. As a result, a wide range of theorists promoting such an idea rightly believe that traumatic experiences can usually be memorable by believing sexual abuse to be highly detrimental and traumatic. Meanwhile, reports revealed by Weatherred (2015) have claimed that for youths and children, sexually disturbing experiences tend to include developmentally unstable sexually traumatic incidences without threatened or being exploited. Thus Vriet, Hennig and Laloi (2015), drawing relevance from these assumptions have stated that if individuals fail to recall incidences of their violence for a long period, then various distrustful, inhibitory mechanisms must have been hindering the access to the recollection during the years when it actually did not occur in the mind. According to the false memory interpretation, recovered memories of exploitation failed to match up to real events. Considering disturbing events as extremely memorable, individuals who claim to have been exclusively uninformed of having been sexually distressed in childhood must be mistaken (Wilson et al., 2015). Those promoting the false memory view are highly skeptical of reports of traumatic memories tend to face during hypnosis, directed descriptions or other identical memory-recovery methods.

Repression theories have interpreted recovered memories of CSA as formerly repressed ones. Moreover, if individuals claim to have not recalled any experienced events of abuses in several years it thought about their abuse in many years, then it can be stated that have a certain level of inability to remember it (Kaplan et al., 2016). On the other hand, repression theorists have claimed that repressed memories of CSA are not undeveloped. As a result, if psychologists or therapists believe that repressed memories of CSA have been developing psychological symptoms in patients, then they must be aided to overcome the amnesic obstructions and recollect memories into awareness.

Taking into account ideas regarding repression and recovered various psychologists promote the authenticity of these memories while others have been highly skeptical. These doubts have claimed that means tend to make individuals develop false memories of CSA. McCann and Pearlman (2015) have identified one prospect related to a weakened source-monitoring capability which facilitates individuals to recognize the origins of the contents of their minds. For example, source monitoring comes into consideration when individuals tend to determine obtained information from print and social media. Additionally, Manzanero et al. (2015) have noted that individuals have the propensity to develop false memories of abuse may have an insufficiency in reality monitoring. This type of monitoring has been recognized as a form of source monitoring essential for identifying mental contents developing from perception from those occurring from imagination. Furthermore, individuals showing poor monitoring skills tend to face challenges in recalling memories of former events from memories of experiences which have specifically been imagined. McCann and Pearlman (2015) at this juncture, have shed light on psychology counsellors who expect a patient faces mental challenges from repressed memories of CSA and will enquire the victims to imagine scenarios of probable abuse. These factors however led patients with reality-monitoring insufficiencies to consequently confuse a memory of such visualized scenarios with a memory based on a legitimate event. Meanwhile, in reality, some people primarily assume they protect repressed memories of traumatic events after experiencing upsetting nightmares, visual or bodily sensations which tend to be understood as perceptual, sensory fragments of covered memories of early trauma (Barlow et al., 2014). The theory regarding reality-monitoring shortages has directed that individuals reporting events of repressed and recovered memories tend to understand individual experiences as memories of actual events.

Debate over the Reality of Repressed Memories

Although, false memory theorists do not argue on the fact that potentially traumatic character of CSA, however, it has been claimed that there can be identified specific disagreements on memories of abuse which are not liable to the standards and principles controlling the process of remembering and overlooking other emotional memories. Freud (2017) has noted that as emotional arousals reinforce memory for the fundamental aspects of events occurred and to the degree that an incident of CSA has drawn a higher level of distress and trauma. When considering these situations, it must be remembered better, not less well in comparison to other events. These factors further have led authors to be skeptical of those who apparently recall emotionally traumatic violence after several years of being profoundly unaware of it (Pizzimenti & Lattal, 2015).  Scholars at this juncture have shown a higher level of doubt with the occurrence of memory during hypnosis or similar procedures. Additionally, concerning false memory interpretations, several assumptions of scholars have shed light on the lack of credibility of some recovered memories. Firstly, Manzanero et al. (2015) have noted that various forms of recollections have been extremely implausible which involves members of satanic ritual abuse and past lives. Secondly, individuals tend to remember these events and experiences only after going through recovered memory procedures such as protected descriptions and hypnosis which usually cultivate false memories. Thirdly, a considerable number of individuals claiming to have recovered memories of shocking abuse has subsequently withdrawn their reports. Fourth, Kaplan et al. (2016) have stated that several experimenters who apply guided descriptions as well as constant recovery attempts can establish false memories of psychologically harmful experiences such as being harassed by an animal during childhood in approximately 45% of college goers. Edmonds et al. (2015) have claimed that informed that the memories which lack authenticity and claiming that false beliefs and memories can essentially lead to continuing attitudinal and behavioural changes. Thus, Kissee, Isaacson and Miller-Perrin (2014) have noted the individuals suppress their memories of violence as the abuse was so emotionally upsetting. The tremendously horrifying character of the experience is accurately what supposedly activates defensive, inhibitory methods that expel it from responsiveness and prevent it from coming to mind. 

Crisp et al. (2016) have noted that individuals generally understand that cognitive memory does not function until we are some three to four years of age. Such an autobiographical memory tends to require that receiving information must be primarily comprehended to arrange and encode before being stored in long term memory. Moreover, in the view of Riba et al. (2015), infants neither possess the knowledge nor experiences. Furthermore, infants show an inability to develop the sense of self to successfully attain implications of incoming information Crisp et al. (2016) through assessing existing knowledge of human memory have claimed that most memories tend to fade with time and recall of memory acts as a reconstructive process. However, if individuals tend to recall distinct and explicit memories of certain previous traumatic experiences in their lives and not thinking about them for certain significant time does not mean individuals have forgotten but tend to have repressed them. Moreover, for recent highly traumatic events, individuals typically struggle not to think about them. Thus no clear repression process serves beneficial to individuals. Additionally, finally, Otgaa et al. (2016) have observed that it would be beneficial for individuals to bear in mind traumatic events in order to circumvent them in future or be prepared for any future fears or threats of related nature. However, in order to disregard and further can generally be unable to recollect such critical prior experiences would act as counter-productive.

Controversy over Recovered Memories

Over the last three decades, courts in the United States and other states are required to consider claims of repressed memories. However, despite the significance of these claims, there can be identified with no credible scientific support for the notion regarding repression memories. Moreover, there can be observed no authentic evidence in order to suggest that extremely distressing childhood memories can be unconsciously displaced from the conscious mind and stored in the unconscious mind during pure conditions for several years on in order to be recalled at the later stage (Woodiwiss, 2014). Crisp et al. (2016) have stated that the notion regarding that mind safeguards itself by repressing or by disregarding memories of pain, fears, trauma and rendering them remote to awareness. Universally identified memory wars, several psychologists have argued on the characteristics of fearful and traumatic memory. At this juncture, Grünbaum (2018) have explained that psychological scientists along with clinicians tend to discard the notion that memories can be repressed. Furthermore, Howe and Knott (2015) have highlighted that history has explored that incredibly traumatic memories such as memories of Holocaust survivors about the stay in concentration camps cannot be easily forgotten. Meanwhile, few psychiatrists and clinicians have claimed that traumatic memories tend to be resistant from the conventional compliant nature of human memory and moreover immensely traumatic childhood memories can be repressed in the unconscious mind for a significant period. In support of such pro-repression view, certain advocates primarily depend on clinical experiences which stated that inability to articulate traumatic and abusive events do not tend to align with repression. For instance, it is possible to note that several women who encountered traumatic events showed immense embarrassment or fear to reveal their experiences of exploitation (Grünbaum, 2018). Moreover, several women have been extremely young when the mistreatment and abuse took place in order to have memories of it in the original place. Woodiwiss (2014) have mentioned that considering that forgetting has been identified as a normal process of human memory, it has the potential that some of the women may have the naturally overlooked or cannot recall about the abuse. Furthermore, the significant proportion of women who failed to reveal the original child sexual abuse incident told of other child sexual abuse events (Davis & Loftus, 2014). Moreover, a study conducted by Lynn et al. (2015) on memory for child sexual abuse revealed that around 10% of adults had shown high inability to reveal experiences of child sexual abuse histories. Thus, repression has been identified as a motivating and dynamic force as to why over 40% of women could not gather the ability and courage to disclose records regarding their child sexual abuse (Bernstein & Freyd, 2014).

Impact of Unprofessional Therapists

At this juncture, on these grounds, specific questions undoubtedly arise regarding credible scientific support for repression memories concerning why individuals sometimes tend to believe that they have recovered formerly repressed memories of child sexual abuse. Brewin and Andrews (2017) have opined that there can be identified certain non-repression explanations which tend to justify the reasons an adult later claiming to have recovered a memory of child sexual abuse. Explicitly, it has been possible that a child did not gain maturity during the time of mistreatment and abuse to have interpreted the event as disturbing child sexual abuse. As a consequence, the newly developed traumatic interpretation of the event as abuse may result in an individual to reveal the apprehensive events of abuse. However, such new memory has not been explained by repression (Davis & Loftus, 2014). On the other hand, Le Berre, Fama and Sullivan (2017) have observed a potential whereby an individual claim that he or she has repressed memories of child sexual abuse, but may have overlooked that the person had in reality retained information of the abuse in the past. Similarly, it has been possible that an individual may purposely try to disregard the acts of child sexual abuse. At this juncture, Allender (2014) has noted it to be highly essential to remember that deliberate avoidance do not align with unconscious repression. As these explanations have aided scholars to comprehend recovered memory events, certain cases related to CSA, memories of murder in addition to brutal child abuse have signified that recovered memories of child sexual abuse may act as a product of psychological suggestion. Howe and Knott (2015) have claimed that these suggestions, however, can be generated from a therapist or another source such as media, real-life cases and research investigations demonstrate that several suggestive techniques can lead individuals to create false memories. Additionally, a substantial amount of scientific research has illustrated that individuals can acquire false memories of experiences which can develop false memories of events which never have taken place to them earlier. Specifically, Gorski (2017) has led a considerable level minority of subjects to wrongly believe or recall that during childhood many children have experienced life-risking situations of being nearly drowned and had been rescued by a lifeguard which had been observed by their parents having a physically violent fight. Drawing credence from these pieces of evidence, Bernstein and Freyd (2014) have noted that betrayal trauma theory has primarily focused on the driving force for forgetting abuse. However, Brewin and Andrews (2017) have argued against the chief trauma models which characterize fear as the motivator for trauma reactions.  Moreover, similar to attachment trauma theory, betrayal trauma theory chiefly has claimed that there can be identified varying responses towards fear and traumatic events which rely on the attachment relationship between the sufferer and the perpetrator. Le Berre, Fama and Sullivan (2017) have claimed that it has been the social context specifically the proximity of the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator which establishes whether abuse can be overlooked. At this stage, studies conducted by Knight (2015) has noted that children have higher propensity to disregard or overlook incestuous abuse in comparison to acts of exploitation perpetrated on children by individuals with secluded or no association to them. Furthermore, betrayal trauma theory has mentioned that the disregard of any form of abuse has been identified as an adaptive response as it facilitates children to sustain an attachment to caregivers who play a highly decisive role in their lives. Moreover, drawing significance of betrayal trauma theory, a meta-analysis on the variables related to the disregarded abuse has found an association between the victim-perpetrator relationship and the extent to which children overlook such acts of childhood sexual abuses (Davis & Loftus,  2014). 

Repression Theories of CSA

Shaw and Vredeveldt (2019) have noted a major characteristic of experimental psychologists to reduce several theories and processes have claimed that individuals do not remember events for a period of time. Freud disavowed his sexual abuse theory by applying his highly established conflict model. Even though Freudian theoretical assumptions have drawn relevance from the etiologic significance of sexual abuse, Kassin (2017) at this juncture has asserted on a certain extent of bias reflected from Freudian theories toward interpreting certain types of incest allegations as fantasies or false memories. Moreover, Otgaar and Howe (2014) have stated that Freud primarily referred to his former lack of ability to discriminate between genuine cases along with the deceptive memories of hysterics concerning their childhood and the memory-traces of actual events. Rather, Freudian theoretical assumptions chiefly reinstated disturbances of infantile sexuality for sexual trauma and reserved sexual visions as well as psychic reality for objective realism. Comprehensive studies of Vriet, Hennig and Laloi (2015) have noted that actual memory tends to manifest to repressed memory in addition to symbolic explanation of disturbing sexual fantasy. Nonetheless, the role of actual trauma has not been overlooked in the field of psychoanalysis.

On the other hand, other explanations related to why certain situations cannot be disregarded which includes weakened encoding into memory during the occurrence of the event, inadequate cues to hold the memory of the individual related to the event in addition to usual deterioration of childhood memory. Allender (2014) has stated that the theory of enthused forgetting has received significant prominence amongst experimental psychologists as a credible explanation for disregard of certain memories. This theory, however, has suggested that individuals tend to purposely overlook when motivated to do so to retain unlikeable or fearful memories out of awareness. According to Pelisoli, Herman and Dell’Aglio (2015), gathering the enthusiasm to overlook few traumatic events aid individuals to uphold their emotional state, sense of self and welfare to focus on resolutions. Thus, Grünbaum (2018) has assumed that motivated forgetting chiefly entails a process of dynamic recovery suppression and thus has been constantly engaged and becomes unconscious over time. However, Woodiwiss (2014) has noted that strategies which have led individuals in psychology experiments to acquire false memories of such slightly fearful, traumatic and peculiar events have drawn similarities to the techniques that have typically been used by recovered memory therapists. Otgaar, Scoboria and Mazzoni (2014) have drawn relevance to these evidences and claimed that indicative techniques primarily include interpreting an individuals’ dreams to signify their events of abuses, positioning an individual into group therapy where they can be listen to others’ accounts of child sexual abuse and further reliving individuals’ past through directed descriptions and offering false feedback to individuals stating that these symptoms suggest they have possibly been victims of sexually abuse. Furthermore, the implementation of such strategies tends to advance an individual to acquire incorrect or false memories of child sexual abuse.

False Memory Interpretation of CSA

Otgaar and Howe (2014) have noted that concept of recovered memory essentially presumes that the memory did not have its occurrence during an extended period when the subject has claimed to be unable to recall it. However, some individuals show the possibility to recall events of their abuse on previous occasions, but then disregard having done so. Furthermore, overlooking prior recollections tend to generate the illusion that the memory had not surfaced in years. Kissee, Isaacson and Miller-Perrin (2014) while taking into account certain substantiated recovered memories had found that individuals presupposed that the memories did not occur in many years, when, in fact, they had recalled the experience and had discussed it with others. On the other hand, comprehensive studies of Weatherre (2015) have observed that after a significant period individuals tend to revisit their childhood neighbourhood and gather experiences of certain unexpected and unanticipated recollection. Such an emotional shock of the later remembers that has been linked to the previous one tend to generate the false impression that the memory did not have its occurrence for a significant period. Moreover, these individuals may inaccurately conclude that they had forgotten their abuse all along (Panter?Brick et al., 2015).

Lynn et al. (2015) have observed that each factor of the recovery memory controversy must be engaged in guaranteeing that the therapy which individuals use mainly involves the slightest potential risk of false memories. Howe and Knott (2015) have claimed that there can be identified certain factors which increase the susceptibility to the implantation of false memories, some of which can be controlled. Thus it has been proposed that therapists must inform individuals regarding the phenomenon of memory alterations whereby they should be provided with sufficient accessibilities to suitable evidence on the subject. Porter and Baker (2015) have noted the phenomenon of paradoxical self-loading which has been identified as a personal characteristic primarily comprising in highlighting on the thoughts, activities and emotions signifying that individuals do not focus on. Studies of Crisp et al. (2016) have noted that individuals constituting highly intense trait irony tend to do the contradictory of what they should focus on. Such emphasis must shed light on the way individuals fall asleep without delay instead of staying conscious, the way the vision of a summer meadow rather than focusing on activities and the more they focus on traumatic events (Davis & Loftus,  2014). In the case of such individuals, it may be enough to suggest that they should do something different and their entire activity which aims to persuade the rules of ironic control.

Reality-Monitoring Shortages Theory

There are several theoretical explanations to highlight events of child sexual abuse. Firstly, considering the age of the child during the time of abuse some empirical study has suggested that the capability to recall may be due to symptoms of infantile amnesia. Vriet, Hennig and Laloi (2015) have noted that as memory primarily appears to be profoundly impaired especially for events which have its incidence before the age of three or four. Porter and Baker (2015) have presupposed that the part of the brain which chiefly involves the explicit memory system does not initiate to develop in children until 2-3 years of age so that for children under the age of; their memory has been assumed to be managed by the implicit memory system mainly involving greater amount of primitive parts of the brain which do not store conceptual, factual and verbal material. These factors have implied that children under about the age of three, neurologically, may not have the competence to take into account explicit memory of child sexual abuse involving full verbal memories but can have unspoken memory of such events in the form of emotional reactions (Panter?Brick et al., 2015). However, on the other hand, Kissee, Isaacson and Miller-Perrin (2014) have claimed that for the existence of traumatic amnesia has relied on the fact that innocence and lack of experience with sex and sexual related abuse lead children to find appropriate categorization whereby these events may be encoded. Such ability of categorizing events could have enabled minors to leverage the way incidences can be decoded or later recovered. Furthermore, drawing relevance to these factors Otgaar and Howe (2014)have identified factors which can be related to a child’s lack of mental capacities. These inabilities, however, have reflected possible challenges faced by the children to construct “a coherent narrative out of traumatic events” at the later stage or after the significant period. Meanwhile, Siegfried  (2014) has suggested that persistent or recurring episodes of abuse events have the propensity to cause amnesia or that traumatic amnesia has been associated with more violent episodes of abuse coupled with young age.

Furthermore, Wilson et al. (2015) have shed light on encompassing theory that has relied on the psychophysiological process of dissociation instead of focusing on repression or normal forgetting. This process, however, is chiefly liable for the temperament of adults’ recollections of disturbing child abuse. Moreover, as McCann and Pearlman (2015) reported, dissociation considered as a passive process has been chiefly relying on the brain’s implicit memory resources. Such resources have been affecting not only the approach experiences have been determined into memory but also the capacity to recover that memory, the methods by which disconnected memories revisit and the incomplete nature of them. In addition to this, several pieces of evidence which support the existence of the state of disconnected and its connection with the explicit and implicit memory systems in addition to the way they operate in corresponding as well as the strong connection between the incident of suffering, dissociation and later amnesia.

Emotional Arousal and Memory

Manzanero et al. (2015) have considered that traumatic memories show higher level of severity and significantly characterized by decontextualized sensory re-experiences. It has further been claimed that memories of upsetting and distressing events have been noticeable from non-traumatic memories and fantasized events. At this juncture, Pizzimenti and Lattal (2015) have less propensity to oversight their clear thoughts and ideas meant for inherent recovered memories of trauma. Barlow et al. (2014) in the book Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach have noted that therapists and researchers dealing with traumatized patients have continually observed that the sensory experiences and visual images linked to the trauma have fewer propensities to be biased towards misrepresentations and false memories in comparison to ordinary experiences.  Furthermore, Riba et al. (2015) have noted that as traumatic events typically reflect a higher level of upsetting situations they have greater propensity to be accompanied by psychological symptomatology further known as post-traumatic stress disorder. Individuals with experiencing such disorders typically experience flashbacks of the events and panic. Moreover, drawing credence to these pieces of evidence McCann and Pearlman (2015)have claimed that the men and women who reported of recovering memories of child sexual abuse have been showing a greater amount of psychological symptoms in comparison to individuals who reported memories of child sexual abuse outside the period of two years. 

Developmental psychology has argued on the reliability and legitimacy of recovered memories from early childhood. Allender (2014) has noted the maturity primarily determines the ability of individuals to recall and encode memories of traumatic or upsetting events. At this juncture, cognitive psychology has observed that memory as a dynamic process of reconstruction which tends to remain exposed to varying and unstable external events in addition to internal effort or drives. Pizzimenti and Lattal (2015)have claimed that if memories of events have not been recalled and cognitively rehearsed in the interval between the incidence of the events and consideration been given to them in the subsequent years, there remains the considerable level of ambiguity related to such memories to continue, be reachable or be reliable. Thus, debates concerning over recovered memory has been compounded by various clinicians and therapists who apply a range of symptoms which tend to indicate the probability of individuals to face detrimental events of sexual abuse and exploitation (Kissee, Isaacson & Miller-Perrin, 2014). Moreover, several common symptoms related to fear, depression, apprehension, anorexia or overeating along with other bodily illnesses have all been considered as a proof of alleged sexual abuse. Thus, psychotherapy based on these hypotheses may lead to harmful effects. As a result, these symptoms tend to result to a high level of increase in self-harm and suicide attempts which claimed to have recovered memory treatments.

Lack of Reliable Evidence for Massive Repression

Hence to conclude, another strategy to remember has relied on an individual need to acquire cognitive conclusion of ambiguous situations which includes memories recovered from memory. Such a propensity has been directly related to reducing the level of tolerance of unclear situations which must be determined directly using the recently accessible information during insufficient information which may turn out to be incorrect. Moreover, to a lesser or greater extent, these occurrences chiefly comprise an individualistic attribute of each individual in addition to their influence on the choice of psychotherapy which relies significantly on the psychotherapist’s capacity to identify and regulate. Consequently, it has been highly fundamental to consider and confirm all other probable explanations of the struggles which individuals report for therapy such as fearful events in childhood that typically have been regarded as an indication of repression thus emerging from the fact that this period has been infrequently recollected in the client’s family. Thus it has been highly sensible to employ the accessible, standardized instruments for measuring potential victims of sexual abuse or techniques for evaluating the implementation of autobiographical recall, as determined for independence in such events may be critical and prevent mistaken and flawed accusations which developed to be immensely burdened with consequences. A section of psychologists has presupposed that individuals who have been claiming to have repressed and recovered memories of traumatic events have typically been mistaken. It has been argued that events which get adduced as memories of extensive upsetting situations and trauma do not necessarily appear as cognitive representations of authentic and legitimate events thus resulting memories to arise from percepts. Factors related to dream fragments; recurring upsetting descriptions along with body memories have been considered as fundamental products of imagination and not perception. Such controversies however implied that individuals have greater inclination to report repressed and recovered memories of CSA have been characterized by a reality monitoring shortage which poses challenges to individuals to differentiate between products of awareness and products of thoughts and imagination. 

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