Repressed Memory and Dissociative Amnesia in Court: Legal Professionals' Experience with Traumatic Memory Loss Claims

Background/Aim: Repressed memory and dissociative amnesia are contested concepts in psychology with serious ramifications in the courtroom. We investigated whether legal professionals (judges, prosecutors, and lawyers) had encountered these concepts in the legal arena, their beliefs concerning them, and gathered insights from their practical experiences. Method: A total of 77 legal professionals answered a survey about thier beliefs and practical experiences with repressed memories and dissociative amnesia in court. Results: Reported encountering cases involving repressed memory and dissociative amnesia, and that such cases have increased over time, particularly during 2010-2023. Interestingly, most legal professionals opposed setting time limits after which the retrieval of traumatic experiences should be considered unreliable. Moreover, many participants held inaccurate beliefs about traumatic memory. Conclusions: These findings highlight the critical need for improved education on traumatic memory loss among legal professionals and law students to ensure fair and accurate handling of cases involving such claims.Antecedentes/objetivo: La memoria reprimida y la amnesia disociativa son conceptos controvertidos en psicolog & iacute;a, con serias repercusiones en los tribunales. Hemos investigado si los operadores jur & iacute;dicos (jueces, fiscales y abogados) se han topado con estos conceptos en el terreno legal, sus creencias al respecto y su experiencia pr & aacute;ctica. M & eacute;todo: Un total de 77 operadores jur & iacute;dicos respondieron a una encuesta sobre creencias y experiencias pr & aacute;cticas en juzgados y tribunales con memorias reprimidas y amnesia disociativa. Resultados: Los operadores jur & iacute;dicos dicen que se han encontrado con casos sobre memoria reprimida y amnesia disociativa, aumentando tales casos con el tiempo, sobre todo en el periodo 2010-2023 y, lo que es m & aacute;s interesante, la mayor & iacute;a de los operadores jur & iacute;dicos se han opuesto a poner l & iacute;mites temporales, m & aacute;s all & aacute; de los cuales la recuperaci & oacute;n de experiencias traum & aacute;ticas podr & iacute;an ser consideradas poco fiables. Por otra parte, muchos operadores mantienen creencias inexactas sobre la memoria traum & aacute;tica. Conclusiones: Estos resultados destacan la necesidad imperiosa de mejorar la formaci & oacute;n de los operadores jur & iacute;dicos y estudiantes de Derecho en la p & eacute;rdida traum & aacute;tica de memoria para garantizar un manejo justo y preciso de los casos que presentan estas reclamaciones.