TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2005//
TI  - Individual differences in emotional memory: adult attachment and long-term memory for child sexual abuse
JO  - Personality and social psychology bulletin
A1  - Edelstein, Robin S.
A1  - Ghetti, Simona
A1  - Quas, Jodi A.
A1  - Goodman, Gail S.
A1  - Alexander, Kristen Weede
A1  - Redlich, Allison D.
A1  - Cordon, Ingrid M.
SP  - 1537
EP  - 1548
VL  - 31
IS  - 11
N2  - In the present study, attachment-related differences in long-term memory for a highly emotional life event, child sexual abuse (CSA), were investigated. Participants were 102 documented CSA victims whose cases were referred for prosecution approximately 14 years earlier. Consistent with the proposal that avoidant individuals defensively regulate the processing of potentially distressing information (Bowlby, 1980), attachment avoidance was negatively associated with memory for particularly severe CSA incidents. This finding was not mediated by the extent to which participants reported talking about the abuse after it occurred, although post abuse discussion did enhance long-term memory. In addition, accuracy was positively associated with maternal support following the abuse and extent of CSA-related legal involvement. Attachment anxiety was unrelated to memory accuracy, regardless of abuse severity. Implications of the findings for theories of avoidant defensive strategies and emotional memory are discussed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0146-1672
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167205277095
ID  - ref1
ER  -