Research Interests and Publications:

Dr. Freyd's research bridges cognitive, clinical, developmental, and social/personality psychology, with a focus on the psychology of trauma.  Dr. Freyd is conducting laboratory and survey research with adults and children to investigate predictions made by betrayal trauma theory (Freyd, 1996). Betrayal trauma refers to a social dimension of psychological trauma, independent of post-traumatic stress reactions.  Betrayal trauma occurs when the people or institutions on which a person depends for survival significantly violate that person's trust or wellbeing: Childhood physical, emotional, or sexual abuse perpetrated by a caregiver are examples of betrayal trauma.  When psychological trauma involves betrayal, the victim may be less aware or less able to recall the traumatic experience because to do so will likely lead to confrontation or withdrawal by the betraying caregiver, threatening a necessary attachment relationship and thus the victim's survival.  Research findings indicate that adults are less likely to fully recall childhood abuse by caregivers or close others than by strangers.  In addition, betrayal trauma may be associated with other problems such as physical illness, alexithymia, depression, and anxiety.  Females, compared with males, report greater exposure to traumas high in betrayal; the reverse is true for traumas low in betrayal. Betrayal trauma theory highlights the importance of safe and trustworthy attachment relationships in understanding posttraumatic outcomes.

Selected Publications:

Foynes, M.M., Freyd, J.J., & DePrince, A.P. (2009).  Child abuse: Betrayal and disclosure.  Child Abuse and Neglect, 33, 209-217.

Freyd, J.J., DePrince, A.P., & Gleaves, D. (2007). The State of Betrayal Trauma Theory: Reply to McNally (2007) -- Conceptual Issues and Future Directions. Memory, 15, 295-311.

Becker-Blease, K.A. & Freyd, J.J. (2006) Research participants telling the truth about their lives: the ethics of asking and not asking about abuse. American Psychologist, 6(3), 218-226.

Freyd, J.J., Putnam, F.W., Lyon, T.D., Becker-Blease, K. A., Cheit, R.E., Siegel, N.B., & Pezdek, K. (2005). The science of child sexual abuse Science, 308, 501.

DePrince, A.P. & Freyd, J.J. (2004). Forgetting trauma stimuli. Psychological Science, 15, 488-492.

Freyd, J.J. (1996). Betrayal Trauma: The Logic of Forgetting Childhood Abuse. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.