Flashbulb memories and posttraumatic stress reactions across the life span: age-related effects of the German occupation of Denmark during World War II.
Abstract
A representative sample of older Danes were interviewed about experiences from the
German occupation of Denmark in World War II. The number of participants with flashbulb
memories for the German invasion (1940) and capitulation (1945) increased with participants'
age at the time of the events up to age 8. Among participants under 8 years at the
time of their most traumatic event, age at the time correlated positively with the
current level of posttraumatic stress reactions and the vividness of stressful memories
and their centrality to life story and identity. These findings were replicated in
Study 2 for self-nominated stressful events sampled from the entire life span using
a representative sample of Danes born after 1945. The results are discussed in relation
to posttraumatic stress disorder and childhood amnesia.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Age FactorsAged
Aged, 80 and over
Denmark
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Female
Germany
Humans
Life Change Events
Male
Mental Recall
Middle Aged
National Socialism
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
World War II
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10099Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1037/0882-7974.21.1.127Publication Info
Berntsen, Dorthe; & Rubin, David C (2006). Flashbulb memories and posttraumatic stress reactions across the life span: age-related
effects of the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Psychol Aging, 21(1). pp. 127-139. 10.1037/0882-7974.21.1.127. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10099.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
David C. Rubin
Juanita M. Kreps Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
For .pdfs of all publications click here My main research interest has been in
long-term memory, especially for complex (or "real-world") stimuli. This work includes
the study of autobiographical memory and oral tra

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