This is the third of five collections of retractor-related material. The titles include The Therapy, Reconciliation, Research about Retractors (this section), Articles about Retractors and Legal Issues Pertaining to Retractors
The following is a partial list of references for studies which 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.
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.
de Rivera, J. (2000). Understanding persons who repudiate memories
recovered in therapy. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice,
31 (4), 378-386.
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.
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.
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 (The construction of false memory syndrome.)
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.
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.
www.FMSFonline.org
APA's "Questions and Answers about
Memories of Childhood Abuse"