Citation

Dilevski N, Paterson HM, Walker SA, van Golde C. Psychiatry Psychol. Law. 2021; 28(5): 711-732.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13218719.2020.1837031

PMID

35571600

PMCID

PMC9103626

Abstract

In cases of repeated victimisation, a complainant's statement of abuse, and therefore memory, is often critical evidence for forensic investigations and legal proceedings. It is therefore important to understand the functioning of adults' memory for repeated events. As such, the purpose of this paper was to review the extant literature on adult memory for instances of a repeated event. The results of the review revealed a small number of heterogeneous studies on adult repeated-event memory (N = 12). The literature so far shows that while adults might have difficulty in recalling information specific to instances (narrow accuracy), they are capable of remembering information across multiple instances (broad accuracy). It was also found that several factors may impact recall of instances including age, the number of experienced instances, rehearsing an event, repeated retrieval and event distinctiveness. The discussion highlights the forensic implications of this research and future research directions.

Language: en

Keywords

domestic violence; autobiographical memory; adults; bullying and harassment; coercive control; eyewitness memory; repeated events; script memory; sexual harassment; source memory