Psychological Characteristics of Children Who Speak of a Previous Life: A Further Field Study in Sri Lanka

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Abstract

Personality and mental ability measures were administered to 27 pairs of children in Sri Lanka who did, or did not, claim memories of a previous life. Questionnaires about their behavior, development, and family environment were administered to their parents. Children claiming previous-life memories performed better in school than did their peers and they were not more suggestible. The Child Behavior Checklist revealed that they exhibited more behavioral problems, including oppositional traits, and obsessional and perfectionistic characteristics. The Child Dissociation Checklist showed them to have dissociative tendencies (e.g. rapid changes in personality and frequent daydreaming). The structure of their family environment did not differ measurably from that of comparison children.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)525-544
Number of pages20
JournalTranscultural Psychiatry
Volume37
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2000

Other keywords

  • Sri Lanka
  • dissociation
  • memory
  • mental abilities
  • personality traits
  • reincarnation

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