CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES

CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES Trauma and Long-Term Memory for Childhood Events: Impact Matters Gail S. Goodman,' Jodi A. Quas,2 Deborah Goltlfarb,3 Lauren Gonzalves,1 and Alejandra Gonzalez' 'University of California, Davis, 2University of California, Irvine, and 3 Florida International University ABSTRACT-In recent years, society has been stunned by high-profile cases in which adults allege they were sexually victimized in childhood. A crucial issue in these cases is how accurately adults remember the traumatic childhood experiences. In this article, we examine the predictors of the accuracy of adults' long-terna memory far maltreatment and events related to the maltreatment experienced in childhood. First, Ire discuss memory for negative or threatening information and how child mal- treatment may affect memory. Second, we highlight methodological challenges inherent in this scientific inquiry. Third, we describe the findings front our longitu- dinal research on the a