Children's memory for traumatic experiences

Children's memory for traumatic events including sudden-onset events (accidents resulting in emergency-room treatment), natural disasters (hurricanes), witnessed events (homicides of parents), and events in which the child is forced to participate (physical and sexual abuse) is reviewed. In each and every instance, memory for the traumatic incident is shown to behave much like memory for nontraumatic incidents. The role of stress in modulating memory performance is also evaluated, and it is concluded that although stress can have a negative effect on what is in memory storage, even these effects can be modified by cognitive (knowledge) and social (attachment) factors. Finally, memory for traumatic experiences is likened to retention of other distinctive experiences. That is, although traumatic occurrences may be more durable than memory for ordinary experiences, such memories may be no different than those for other personally significant events that are unique or distinctive. It is argued that it may be the distinctiveness of the event, rather than its traumatic properties per se, that leads to its durability in memory.