Long-term autobiographical memory for legal involvement: Individual and sociocontextual predictors

We examined adults’ long-term autobiographical memory for a dramatic life event—participating as a child victim in a criminal prosecution because of alleged sexual abuse. The study is unique in several ways, including that we had extensive documentation concerning the sexual abuse allegations, the children's involvement in their legal case, and other factors known to affect long-term memory. Approximately 14 years after their legal involvement, 94 adolescents and young adults, aged 16–30 years, were interviewed about their childhood legal experiences. A subset of the victims had taken the stand in criminal court, and memory for testifying was examined. Results revealed that greater severity of the abuse, a closer relationship to the perpetrator, testifying more frequently, and greater distress were associated with more accurate memory. Findings suggest that both individual and sociocontextual factors must be considered in pursuing a scientific understanding of autobiographical memory for stressful childhood experiences.