Memory and Developmental Psychopathology

This chapter explains how children's memory operate and what are the critical developmental shifts during childhood that change memory from a less mature to a more mature system. It then discusses how these processes are altered in children experiencing trauma or psychopathology. The chapter talks about child maltreatment and the chronic stress and psychiatric sequelae associated with child abuse and neglect. Drawing on a developmental psychopathology perspective, the chapter begins with a discussion on how childhood trauma might affect the normal course of memory development. The chapter outlines theories and then evaluates them in the context of specific memory data related to children's basic memory processes and autobiographical memory. Some of the theories considered here include: Freyd's betrayal trauma theory and Foa's fear networks. The chapter concludes with a discussion on future research that should be undertaken to challenge the contention that memory operates similarly in traumatized and nontraumatized individuals.