ABSTRACT
Unlike other syndromes, False Memory Syndrome (FMS) has only very recently emerged. It has yet to gain an ‘official’ status within psychological or psychiatric discourse. The emergence of FMS provides a prime illustration of the way in which psychological syndromes are culturally situated and politically inspired. It is not therefore surprising to find the implicit relation already at work, even in the early stages of the growth of this syndrome. Any reflective examination of FMS needs, at the outset, to highlight its connection to the phenomenon of child sexual abuse. Mark Pendergrast has put forward several explanations concerning why the profiles of the UK and US associations should differ as much as they do. He has suggested that British parents are ‘too embarrassed, frightened, and depressed to come forward’ and that allegations of abuse are not being pursued in the UK.
