DID, PTSD & Dissociation Terms · Theories
Betrayal Trauma Theory and Dissociation
In short: a theory that explains why a child who is hurt by someone they depend on, like a parent, may not remember or “know” about the abuse. Not knowing helps the child survive.
What is it?
Betrayal Trauma Theory was developed by psychologist Jennifer Freyd in the 1990s. She asked a hard question: why do some people forget abuse that happened to them as children, even abuse that went on for years?
Her answer: it depends a lot on who hurt them.
How does it work?
A small child needs their caregiver to survive: for food, a home, and protection. According to the theory:
- If a stranger hurts a child, the healthy reaction is to be afraid and stay away from that person.
- But if the person hurting the child is the same person the child depends on, the child can’t stay away. Fighting back or running away could cost them the care they need to live.
- So the mind may protect the child by keeping the betrayal out of awareness. The child can keep loving and relying on the caregiver, because part of them doesn’t “know” what is happening.
Freyd called this betrayal blindness. In this view, forgetting isn’t a failure. It’s a survival strategy.
How is it used?
The theory helps explain why abuse by a parent or close caregiver may be linked to more memory loss and dissociation than abuse by a stranger. A 2001 study by Freyd and colleagues found that people abused by a caregiver reported more memory loss for the abuse. Other researchers, such as Richard McNally, question whether traumatic memories are forgotten in this way, so the debate continues.
Freyd and her colleagues later expanded the idea to institutional betrayal: when schools, churches, hospitals or other institutions people trust fail to protect them, or make things worse.
Betrayal Trauma and DID
Betrayal Trauma Theory was not written specifically about DID. It offers one explanation for why memories of abuse by a caregiver may be missing, and why a child can keep loving and relying on someone who caused harm.
Related terms
- Dissociative Amnesia
- Theory of Structural Dissociation
- Pierre Janet and Trauma
- Amnesia Barriers
A note about theories
The therapies and theories about trauma and DID are ideas that researchers are still studying and arguing about. None of them are proven facts. What works for one person may not work for another. Please take the time to read about any therapy yourself, ask questions, and decide what feels right for you.
Sources
Freyd, J. J. (1994). Betrayal trauma: Traumatic amnesia as an adaptive response to childhood abuse. Ethics & Behavior, 4(4), 307–329.
Freyd, J. J. (1996). Betrayal Trauma: The Logic of Forgetting Childhood Abuse. Harvard University Press.
Freyd, J. J., DePrince, A. P., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (2001). Self-reported memory for abuse depends upon victim-perpetrator relationship. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 2(3), 5–17.
McNally, R. J. (2003). Remembering Trauma. Harvard University Press.
Smith, C. P., & Freyd, J. J. (2014). Institutional betrayal. American Psychologist, 69(6), 575–587.
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