Children remember childhood: implications for childhood amnesia

Whether events from early childhood are recalled as children grow older is a critical issue for understanding the development of autobiographical memory and the phenomenon of childhood amnesia. Sixteen white, middle-class 8-year-old children were asked about events that they had recalled in previous interviews when they were 40, 46, 58 or 70 months old. Children recalled most of the events about which they were asked, even those events that occurred in very early childhood. Moreover, children recalled the events accurately and with many details. However, children reported much new and different information about the events at age 8. Overall, girls recalled more information at age 8 than boys did. Surprisingly, there were no relationships between rehearsal and the amount of information children recalled at age 8, but it must be emphasized that all these events were frequently rehearsed at the time of occurrence. These results demonstrate remarkable memory over extended periods of time for events occurring in early childhood. Implications for childhood amnesia are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Altruistic or selfish? Responses when safety is threatened depend on childhood socioeconomic status

Altruism is an effective method of coping with threats. This research explored the relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and altruism under different situations. The results of five studies provided reliable evidence that safety-threat conditions moderated the relationship between childhood SES and altruism. Individuals with higher childhood SES exhibited higher altruistic intentions (Studies 1 and 2) and behaviors (Study 3) when they were manipulated to imagine a safety threat scenario (Study 1), when viewing pictures of disasters (Study 2), and when they were manipulated to believe that their health was under threat (Study 3). However, their childhood SES had no significant impact on their altruistic intentions and behaviors in relatively safe environments (Studies 1–3). This effect was again tested in more realistic environmental conditions using a large-scale survey in Study 4. In Study 5, we explored the underlying mechanism behind the earlier findings (i.e., temporal discounting).     

Defining the boundary of childhood amnesia

When adults are asked to recall their earliest autobiographical memories most can recall nothing about their infancy and early childhood, a phenomenon commonly referred to as childhood amnesia. There is general consensus regarding the existence of childhood amnesia, but there remains considerable debate over its boundary. Most researchers have argued that the boundary of childhood amnesia occurs between the ages of 3 and 4 years, but in 1993 Usher and Neisser published a highly influential paper, which has subsequently been used to argue that the boundary may be as low as 2 years. In the present experiment we examined how changes in scoring criteria influence our estimates of the age of adults' earliest memories. We conclude that some coding criteria are more valid than others and that the best estimates of childhood amnesia will include measures of free recall in addition to the specific questions that have dominated prior research in this area.     

Defining the boundary of childhood amnesia

When adults are asked to recall their earliest autobiographical memories most can recall nothing about their infancy and early childhood, a phenomenon commonly referred to as childhood amnesia. There is general consensus regarding the existence of childhood amnesia, but there remains considerable debate over its boundary. Most researchers have argued that the boundary of childhood amnesia occurs between the ages of 3 and 4 years, but in 1993 Usher and Neisser published a highly influential paper, which has subsequently been used to argue that the boundary may be as low as 2 years. In the present experiment we examined how changes in scoring criteria influence our estimates of the age of adults’ earliest memories. We conclude that some coding criteria are more valid than others and that the best estimates of childhood amnesia will include measures of free recall in addition to the specific questions that have dominated prior research in this area.     

Pathological and nonpathological dissociation: the relevance of childhood trauma

Although previous research has implicated a history of childhood trauma in the development of dissociative tendencies, insufficient cognizance (in this context) has been taken of the distinction between pathological and nonpathological dissociation. In this study, the relationship between childhood trauma and both pathological and nonpathological dissociation was investigated in a sample of 100 Australian adults. Pathological dissociation was positively predicted by dimensions of childhood trauma, but no such relationship was found for nonpathological dissociation (psychological absorption). The data are consistent with the traumagenic model of the dissociative disorders, but factors other than childhood trauma may also be pertinent.     

Reasoning about conjunctive probabilistic concepts in childhood.

While adults are known to exhibit biases when making conjunctive probability judgments, little is known about childhood competencies in this area. Participants (aged between four and five years, eight and ten years, and a group of young adults) attempted to select the more likely of two events, a single event, and a conjunctive event containing, as one of its components, the single event. The problems were such that the objective probabilities of the component events were potentially available. Children in both age groups were generally successful when the single event was likely. However, when it was unlikely, a majority of children rejected it, choosing the conjunctive event instead, thereby committing the conjunction fallacy. A substantial minority of adults also committed the fallacy under equivalent conditions. It is concluded that under certain conditions children are capable of normative conjunctive judgments but that the mechanisms underpinning this capacity remain to be fully understood.     

A developmental account of early childhood amnesia

This study was an attempt to demonstrate the utility of a developmental approach to the study of early childhood amnesia. Working from a model of early childhood memory development proposed by Nelson and Ross (1980), I hypothesized that children would show early childhood amnesia and that this could be tested by comparing obtained estimates of memory strength to values predicted by a standard retention function. The data confirm this hypothesis for 6- and 10-year-old children, and suggest that the early childhood amnesia period extends from birth to a point between the third and fourth birthdays. The data also support a prediction, derived from the aforementioned model, that children would report a disproportionate number of general memories from the amnesia period. Thus, the developmental model provides a useful vehicle for examining early childhood amnesia and helps to frame further questions such as why some specific memories from this period are retained even though most are lost.     

Recalling more childhood events leads to judgments of poorer memory: Implications for the recovered/false memory debate

Dissociative disorders that are believed to develop from childhood sexual abuse are often considered to include amnesia for childhood events, particularly the events that involve the abuse itself. One unresolved issue is the extent to which memory recovery attempts can contribute to claims of having amnestic symptoms. Experiments with undergraduate subjects reveal that requiring more reports of childhood events will increase judgments of having poorer memory of one’s childhood. The results are consistent with the use of heuristics when one is reasoning under conditions of uncertainty, as experienced difficulty in remembering more experiences is attributed to the incompleteness of childhood memory. The findings challenge the validity of reports of childhood amnesia that follow memory recovery attempts.     

Sex differences in gender-related childhood memories

Based on theories of gender development, especially the one proposed by Nancy Chodorow, it was predicted that boys' gender-related childhood memories will be different from girls' on five dimensions related to activity, emotionality, and sex appropriateness. Forty-five men and 45 women were asked to describe their earliest gender-related childhood memories. The memories were analyzed by two judges. The data document a significant sex difference in the activity and emotionality of the memories. Men's memories were more active and women's more emotional. The predictions that men's memories of sex-appropriate behavior will be more positive, will have fewer deviations from sex-appropriate behavior, and when such deviations occur, they will be associated with more negative emotions were not confirmed. It is suggested that childhood memories can be seen as reflecting actual differences between the sexes in childhood experiences, or as the result of a process of memory selection that reflects men's and women's different gender-related experiences as adults.The author would like to thank Beni Feinholtz and Naftali Menashe, both students at Tel Aviv University, for their help in the data collection.     

The relationship between adult happiness and self-appraised childhood happiness and events

The primary purpose of the present research was to relate questionnaire-assessed self-reported childhood happiness and events to adulthood happiness in 387 non-clinical participants. Although childhood happiness and adult happiness were found to be significantly correlated (r = .28, p < .001), there was little relationship between reported adult happiness and reported specific childhood events and circumstances. Childhood events and circumstances, however, were much more highly correlated with childhood happiness (R = .64). Thirty-four percent of the persons who said they were unhappy or very unhappy as a child, but only 9% who said they were happy or very happy as a child, reported that they were unhappy or very unhappy as adults.     

The social structure of violence in childhood and approval of violence as an adult

Data from a national sample survey conducted for the Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence are used to investigate the relationship of three aspects of exposure to violence in childhood (observing violence, being a victim of violence, and committing violence) with approval of violence as an adult. Those who experienced violence as a child tended to favor the use of violence to achieve personal and political ends. However, there was no correlation between childhood violence experience and approval of the use of violence to settle conflicts between nations. It is concluded that the amount of violence experienced in childhood by members of a society is one of the factors contributing to the development and maintenance of cultural norms supporting the use of violence in face-to-face situations.     

The hierarchical structure of childhood personality in five countries: continuity from early childhood to early adolescence

Childhood personality is a rapidly growing area of investigation within individual differences research. One understudied topic is the universality of the hierarchical structure of childhood personality. In the present investigation, parents rated the personality characteristics of 3,751 children from 5 countries and 4 age groups. The hierarchical structure of childhood personality was examined for 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-factor models across country (Canada, China, Greece, Russia, and the United States) and age group (3-5, 6-8, 9-11, and 12-14 years of age). Many similarities were noted across both country and age. The Five-Factor Model was salient beginning in early childhood (ages 3-5). Deviations across groups and from adult findings are noted, including the prominent role of antagonism in childhood personality and the high covariation between Conscientiousness and intellect. Future directions, including the need for more explicit attempts to merge temperament and personality models, are discussed.     

The relationship of childhood trauma to nicotine dependence in pregnant smokers

Pregnant women with high levels of nicotine dependence are the least likely to quit smoking spontaneously during pregnancy or to benefit from smoking cessation interventions. In the general population, there is increasing evidence of a relationship between smoking, nicotine dependence, and exposure to childhood trauma. We examined the relationship of childhood trauma to several measures of nicotine dependence and evaluated whether this relationship was mediated by major depressive disorder or depressive symptom severity in pregnant smokers. Moderate to extreme levels of childhood trauma were significantly related to smoking within 5 minutes or less of waking, and to the Behavioral Choice-Melioration, Negative Reinforcement, and Tolerance subscales of the Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (WISDM-68) scale. The relationships between childhood emotional abuse and the WISDM-68 Total and Negative Reinforcement subscale were partially mediated by depressive symptoms. Results suggest that childhood trauma may be a risk factor underlying nicotine dependence in pregnant smokers. Increased understanding of the relationship of affect regulation to smoking in individuals with childhood trauma histories may aid in the development of more effective treatments of nicotine dependence for this population of smokers.     

Parenting among mothers exposed to ongoing military conflict in childhood: An exploratory study

Mothers living in areas exposed to ongoing military conflict are at higher risk for psychological difficulties, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, than those not living in such areas. The aim of this two-part exploratory study was twofold. The first aim was to examine differences between mothers who grew up under ongoing military conflict in childhood and mothers who did not grow up in affected areas in terms of their levels of differentiation of self and parental self-efficacy (PSE). The second aim was to identify and describe the parenting experiences of mothers who were exposed to military conflict in childhood. In Part 1 of the study, the sample included 120 mothers (half of whom reported on being exposed to ongoing military conflict in childhood). Findings showed that mothers exposed to ongoing military conflict in childhood reported lower levels of differentiation of self and PSE than their counterparts. In Part 2, 10 mothers who were exposed to ongoing military conflict as children were interviewed about their experience as parents and their PSE. Results indicated that the mothers felt their childhood experiences affected their parenting and PSE negatively, resulting in anxiety, difficulty dealing with stress and sometimes posttraumatic symptoms as well as parental patterns of overprotectiveness, separation anxiety and intergenerational transmission of anxiety. The results highlight the consequences of exposure to ongoing military conflict during childhood on levels of differentiation of self and parenting practices.     

Issues to consider in the differential diagnosis of normal childhood nonfluencies and stuttering

Historically more attention has been focused on the adult stutterer than on the young stutterer. This article discusses three key issues in the differential diagnosis of normal childhood nonfluencies and childhood stuttering. The three issues are (1) whether early childhood disfluencies are heterogeneous or homogeneous phenomena, (2) whether the relationship between normal childhood nonfluencies and early stuttering is continuous or dichotomous, and (3) whether normal nonfluencies and stuttering differ quantitatively or qualitatively. Theoretical research as well as clinical implications of these issues are discussed.     

Developmental change in speed of processing during childhood and adolescence

Throughout childhood and adolescence, there are consistent age differences in speed of processing. Here 72 published studies yielded 1,826 pairs of response times (RTs) in which each pair consisted of adults' mean RT for a condition and the corresponding mean RT for a younger group. The primary results were that (a) children's and adolescents' RTs increase linearly as a function of adult RTs in corresponding conditions and (b) the amount of increase becomes smaller with age in a manner that is well described by an exponential function. These results are consistent with the view that age differences in processing speed reflect some general (i.e., nontask specific) component that changes rapidly during childhood and more slowly during adolescence. Possible candidates for the general component are discussed.     

The Westermarck Effect and early childhood co‐socialization: Sex differences in inbreeding‐avoidance

The aim of this study was to determine whether there are sex differences in regard to the effect of early childhood co‐socialization on inbreeding‐avoidance at sexual maturity. Multiple logistic regression methodology was used to model the relationship between cousin relationship and social proximity in childhood and its effect on mate choice beyond adolescence for a sample of Moroccan participants. Females showed a synergistic interaction effect for cousin marriage and childhood co‐socialization and an additional interaction effect for co‐socialization during the first seven years of childhood. Male participants showed no significant effect for early childhood co‐socialization. The Westermarck Effect hypothesis that early childhood co‐socialization leads to a lack of sexual interest at maturity is thus supported for female participants but not for male participants. These results are consistent with expectations from parental investment theory that females should show greater inbreeding‐avoidance than males do because of the greater costs females suffer as a consequence of inbreeding depression.     

Predictive genetic testing for conditions that present in childhood

There is a general consensus in the medical and medical ethics communities against predictive genetic testing of children for late onset conditions, but minimal consideration is given to predictive testing of asymptomatic children for disorders that present later in childhood when presymptomatic treatment cannot influence the course of the disease. In this paper, I examine the question of whether it is ethical to perform predictive testing and screening of newborns and young children for conditions that present later in childhood. I consider the risks and benefits of (1) predictive testing of children from high-risk families; (2) predictive population screening for conditions that are untreatable; and (3) predictive population screening for conditions in which the efficacy of presymptomatic treatment is equivocal. I conclude in favor of parental discretion for predictive genetic testing, but against state-sponsored predictive screening for conditions that do not fulfill public health screening criteria.     

Fibromyalgia and childhood abuse: Exploration of stress reactivity as a developmental mediator

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the human body’s stress reactivity in response to trauma may be a possible developmental mediator between childhood abuse and the development of fibromyalgia (FM). Four points are emphasized in this article. First, studies that have examined the prevalence of childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in FM patients are evaluated. Second, health and neuroendocrine differences between abused and non-abused FM patients are examined. Third, studies that tested the association between childhood abuse and stress reactivity characterized by neurobiological abnormalities are reviewed. Fourth, studies that have investigated the association between stress reactivity and FM are analyzed. The results of the reviews showed significant associations between childhood abuse and FM, childhood abuse and stress reactivity, and stress reactivity and FM, indicating that childhood abuse may be one of the etiological factors that could lead to abnormal brain development, affecting stress reactivity, and ultimately lead to the development of FM.     

Sensory-processing sensitivity moderates the association between childhood experiences and adult life satisfaction

There are few studies testing the differential susceptibility hypothesis (DSH: hypothesizing that some individuals are more responsive to both positive and negative experiences) with adult personality traits. The current study examined the DSH by investigating the moderating effect of sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) on childhood experiences and life satisfaction. A total of 185 adults completed measures of SPS, positive/negative childhood experiences and life satisfaction. SPS did moderate the association between childhood experiences and life satisfaction. Simple slopes analysis compared those reporting high and low SPS (+/− 1 SD) and revealed that the difference was observed only for those who reported negative childhood experiences; with the high SPS group reporting lower life satisfaction. There was no difference observed in those reporting positive childhood experiences, which supported a diathesis-stress model rather than the DSH.