The state of betrayal trauma theory: Reply to McNally Conceptual issues and future directions Freyd, DePrince, Gleaves Betrayal trauma theory (Freyd, 1994, 1996, 2001) is an approach to conceptualising trauma that points to the importance of social relationships in understanding post-traumatic outcomes, including reduced recall.
We argue in this paper that child sexual abuse very often constitutes a severe betrayal trauma and that it is thus ‘‘genuinely traumatic''. We will also argue that one reasonably common effect of child sexual abuse *particularly the more it involves betrayal trauma* is some degree of forgetting or ‘‘knowledge isolation'' about the event. This last claim speaks to the heart of betrayal trauma theory that McNally has summarised and critiqued. In this paper we will respond to aspects of McNally's critique as well as offer our own perspective on the state of betrayal trauma theory. We discuss (1) conceptual issues, (2) critiques of empirical studies, and (3) future directions. Although our interpretation of data diverges from McNally's in many places, we have all arrived at a surprisingly common endpoint. McNally suggests a child may not think about the abuse for several reasons, such as fears that disclosure may break up the family. In accord with betrayal trauma theory, we note that the failure to think about events will contribute to poorer memory for the event and that these processes are mediated by the unique demands placed on a child exposed to betrayal traumas. _http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/articles/fdg2007.pdf_ (http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/articles/fdg2007.pdf) Talking About Sexual Assault: Society's Response to Survivors - Sexual assault is a traumatic experience for any woman. Furthermore, many victims who tell others about their assault must endure a "second assault" in the form of negative reactions, such as victim blaming and disbelief. One third to two thirds of victims may experience such reactions, which have negative mental and physical health effects on the victims. This book provides a comprehensive look at women's rape disclosure, addressing such issues as why, how often, and to whom women disclose their sexual assault; how people respond to disclosures; what factors influence how they respond to disclosures; and how these responses affect survivors. ISBN: 978-1-4338-0741-1 March 2010 Part of the Psychology of Women Series _http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4318073.aspx_ (http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4318073.aspx) Psychologists Notes May Indicate Zubaydah Torture Experimentation 25 April 2010 by: Jeffrey Kaye, t r u t h o u t | News Analysis One interesting nugget found in newly released CIA documents related to the destruction of 92 torture tapes concerns the unreported existence of psychologist's notes as a standard part of the interrogation protocol. In a "top secret" paper (undated) entitled "The CIA Interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, March 2001 - January 2003," in a section that, though heavily redacted, describes the review of the tapes by a CIA attorney from the Office of General Counsel, "interrogation materials" are described as consisting of "videotapes, logbook, notebook, and psychologist's notes." _http://www.truthout.org/psychologists-notes-indicate-zubaydah-torture-experimentation58855_ (http://www.truthout.org/psychologists-notes-indicate-zubaydah-torture-experimentation58855) Torture FOIA - Torture Documents Released 4/15/2010, Part 1 April 15, 2010 In response to the ACLU's lawsuit, the CIA released documents related to the reasons behind the agency's destruction of 92 videotapes of interrogations on April 15, 2010. (Part 1 includes documents 1-9 of the release.) _http://www.aclu.org/national-security/torture-foia-torture-documents-released-415 2010_ (http://www.aclu.org/national-security/torture-foia-torture-documents-released-4152010) _ http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/cia_release20100415_p01-09.pdf_ (http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/cia_release20100415_p01-09.pdf)
