Edited by Robert A. Baker, Ph.D.
Prometheus, 1998, 467 pp, ISBN 1-57392-182-3. 
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Would children lie about sexual abuse? Can repressed memories of sexual trauma be accurately recovered? Should the courts accept these memories as evidence years later? What methods should therapists use to determine the truth?
Child Sexual Abuse and False Memory Syndrome features significant scientific research and debates on these important questions by noted experts, including:
- Elizabeth Loftus on the dangers of using "recovered memories" in alleged abuse cases
- Gail Goodman on childhood trauma and memory of stressful events
- Harrison Pope Jr. and James Hudson on repression of childhood abuse memories
- Richard Ofshe and Ethan Watters on hypnosis and physician-induced memories of abuse
- Stephen Ceci and Maggie Bruck on the reliability of children's statements
- Hollida Wakefield and Ralph Underwager on sexual-abuse lawsuits against parents
- plus commentaries by Robert A. Baker and contributions by more tha twenty other distinguished researchers.
Child sexual abuse has been a topic of public discussion and debate since the early eighties, when sensational cases like McMartin Preschool trial dominated tabloid headlines and TV talk shows. Since that time, many similar incidents have been reported; yet, despite extensive and often graphic media coverage, it is often unclear, amid the accusations and denials, what the real facts are. In some cases, there is indisputable evidence of abuse, but in others the allegations appear to be the result of "false memories" — the distorted imaginings of troubled individuals, often sincerely believed by the accusers and encouraged by incompetent therapists.
In an effort to bring scientific understanding to this complex and highly emotional controversy, psychologist Robert A. Baker has collected important essays by noted experts on child sexual abuse. The book is divided into five key areas of discussion: the nature of memory and its recovery; the debate over repression and amnesia; the use of hypnosis and suggestion in therapy and the possibility of therapist-induced "memories"; and a review of current research and its legal implications. Baker concludes with a look at the future and recommendations for improving current methods of investigating and preventing child abuse.
The distinguished contributors include Maggie Bruck, Stephen Ceci, Gail Goodman, James Hudson, Elizabeth Loftus, Richard Ofshe, Harrison Pope Jr., Ralph Underwager, Hollida Wakefield, Ethan Watters, Michael Yapko, and more than twenty others.
Rober A. Baker, Ph.D., is the author of the acclaimed They Call It Hypnosis. He has taught psychology at MIT, Stanford University; and the University of Kentucky. He is also the author of Hidden Memories: Voices and Visions from Within and Mind Games: Are We Obsessed with Therapy?
Contents
- Preface: The Statement of the Problem, by Robert A. Baker
- Introduction: Hidden Memories: Fact or Fancy? by Barry L. Beyerstein and James R. P. Ogloff
- Part One: Memory and its Recovery
- Remembering Dangerously, By Elizabeth F. Loftus
- The Shadow of a Doubt, by Mary Sykes Wylie
- The Seductions of Memory, by Michael D. Yupko
- Facing the Trith about False Memory, by David Calof
- Children's Memories for Stressful Events, by Gail S. Goodman, Jodi E. Hirschman, Debra Hepps McKee and Leslie Rudy
- Part Two: Repression and Amnesia
- The Evidence for Repression: An Examination of Sixty Years of Research, by David S. Holmes
- Can Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse Be Repressed?, by Harison G. Pope Jr. and James I. Hudson
- Forgetting Sexaul Trauma: What Does It Mean When 38% Forget? by Elizabeth F.Loftus, Maryanne Garry and Julie Feldman
- Repressed Memories: True and False, by Andrew D.Reisner
- Part Three: Hypnosis, Suggestion, and Iatrogenesis
- Suggestibility and Repressed Memories of Abuse: A Survey of Psychotherapists' Beliefs, by Michael D. Yapko
- Making Monsters, by Richard Ofshe and Ethan Watters
- The Validity of Repressed Memories and the Accuracy of Their Recall Through Hypnosis: A Case Study from the Courtroom, by Donald R. Tayloe
- The Memory Retrieval Process in Incest Survivor Therapy, by Christine A. Courtois
- Part Four: Professional Problems and Ethical Issues
- The Professional Response to Child Sexual Abuse: Whose Interests Are Served? by Frank D. Fincham, Steven R. H. Beach, Thom Moore and Carol Diener
- How Reliable Are Children's Statements? ... It Depends, by Stephen J. Ceci and Maggie Bruck
- Avoiding False Claims of Child Sexual Abuse: Empty Promises, by Kathy Pezdek
- Child Sexual Abuse: Finding Common Ground, by Frank D. Fincham, Steven R. H. Beach, Thom Moore and Carol Diener
- Child Sexual Abuse: Ethical Issues for the Family Therapist, by Beth Haverkamp and Judith C. Daniluk
- Part Five: Research, Needed Research, and Legal Implications
- The Impact of Child Sexual Abuse: A Review of the Research, by Angela Browne and David Finkelhor
- Child Witnesses; Translating Research into Policy, by Stephen J. Ceci and Maggie Bruck
- Recovered Memories of Alleged Sexual Abuse: Lawsuits against Parents, by Hollida Wakefield and Ralph Underwager
- Part Six: Summary and Conclusions
- Where Do We Go from Here? by Robert A. Baker
- Recommended Readings
- Contributors
- Index
Thanks for your interest!