RESEARCH ABOUT RETRACTORS

The following is a partial list of references for studies that focus specifically on retractors’ reports of their experiences with false memories.

de Rivera, J. (1997). The construction of false memory syndrome: The experience of retractors. Psychological Inquiry, 8, 271-291.
Interviews with four retractors following a procedure designed to identify the retractors’ explanation of their false memory experience using different explanatory models. Two retractors’ experiences fit a mind control model and two appeared to have engaged in an explanatory narrative model. (Link to abstract: The Construction of False Memory Syndrome: The Experience of Retractors.)

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de Rivera, J. (1998). Relinquishing believed-in imaginings: Narratives of people who have repudiated false accusations. In J. deRivera & T.R. Sabrin (Eds.), Believed in imaginings: The narrative construction of reality. (pp.169-188). Washington: American Psychological Association.
An expansion of the paper above, including results of 56 respondents (retractors) who were asked to endorse one of (or a combination of) three primary explanatory models for their FMS. (Link to abstract: www.psycnet.apa.org.)

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de Rivera, J. (2000). Understanding persons who repudiate memories recovered in therapy. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31 (4), 378-386.
(Link to abstract: Understanding Persons Who Repudiate Memories Recovered in Therapy.)

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Fetkewicz, J., Sharma, V. and Merskey, H (2000). A note on suicidal deterioration with recovered memory treatment. Journal of Affective Disorders, 58 (2), 155-159.
A study comparing the incidence of suicidal behaviors reported by retractors after a diagnosis of MPD with those reported by a group of mood disorder patients. (Link to abstract: A Note on Suicidal Deterioration With Recovered Memory Treatment.) (Link to PDF file.)

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Lief, H.I. and Fetkewicz, J. (1995). Retractors of false memories: The evolution of pseudomemories. Psychiatry and Law, Fall, 411-35.
A survey of 40 retractors. Results identify demographic characteristics of this group as well as factors involved in the evolution of their false memories. (Link to PDF file: Retractors of false memories: The evolution of pseudomemories.)

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Lief, H.I. and Fetkewicz, J. (1997). The construction of false memory syndrome: A transactional model. Psychological Inquiry, 8, 303-306.
A commentary on de Rivera. (Link to PDF file: The construction of false memory syndrome: A transactional model.)

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McElroy, S.L. and Keck, P.E. (1995) Recovered memory therapy: False memory syndrome and other complications. Psychiatric Annals, 25, 720-725.
Case study of a woman who entered therapy for depressive symptoms, anorexia nervosa, trichotillomania and intrusive thoughts. In therapy, she recovered memories of abuse by several family members and later relinquished her memories as false. (Link to abstract: Recovered memory therapy: False memory syndrome and other complications.)

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McHugh, P.R., Lief, H.I., Freyd, P.P., Fetkewicz, J.M. (2004), Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192(8). 525-531.
This paper is based on responses to a 2002 survey of families that had contacted the FMS Foundation between 1992 and 2001. The authors identified the demographics of the accusers and the stages through which some of them passed as they reconciled with their families. The paper also describes what has been learned about the recovery process.
From Refusal to Reconcilation: Family relationships after an accusation based on recovered memories.

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Nelson, E.L. and Simpson, P. (1994). First glimpse: An initial examination of subjects who have rejected their visualizations as false memories. Issues in Child Abuse Accusations, 6, 123-133.
An exploratory study of 20 retractors which includes demographic information and characteristics of common experiences in the process of recovering memories. (Link to PDF file: First glimpse: An initial examination of subjects who have rejected their visualizations as false memories.)

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Ost, J., Costall, A, and Bull, R. (2002). A perfect symmetry? A study of retractors’ experiences of making and then repudiating claims of early sexual abuse. Psychology, Crime & Law, 8, 155-181.
Self-reports indicated asymmetry between process of recovery and retraction. Recovery of memories appeared to involve more social pressure. (Paper available at A Perfect Symmetry? A Study of Retractors’s Experiences of Making and Then Repudiating Claims of Early Sexual Abuse.)

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Last Updated: July 9, 2017