Adultos que alegaram memórias de vida passada na infância: estudo de seguimento

Abstract

Introduction: Despite over six decades of academic studies on children who claim past-life memories (PLM) and more than two thousand cases cataloged, there are almost no studies about how they evolved as their lives progressed. This work aims to follow-up adults who spontaneously claimed PLM in childhood by evaluating the persistence and the impact of these memories. Methods: This retrospective cohort of children who claimed PLM in Brazil had initial case records from 1969 to 2001. The case subjects and their close relatives were traced and interviewed in 2023, predominantly in person, using validated, structured questionnaires and open-ended questions. The evaluation addressed the perception of impacts on their lives, the content recollected, behaviors and physical marks, mental health, quality of life, religiosity, and interpretations of the phenomenon. Results: A total of 18 subjects and 18 relatives were interviewed 48.5 years (median; IQR: 16.0) after the initial case records. Half of the subjects were male, and the average age was 53.2 years (SD: 11.9). The majority of the subjects (66.7%) did not identify impacts of PLM on their lives; 33.3% stated they still had PLM, and 55.8% of the recalled statements corresponded to claims in childhood. The persistence of phobias (22%) and philias (28%) were observed, and only one person retained a birthmark. No significant levels of symptoms of common mental or posttraumatic stress disorders were observed. They enjoyed good levels of quality of life, similar to their relatives. They demonstrated high levels of intrinsic religiosity, greater non-organizational religious involvement than organizational, and belief in reincarnation as the explanation. Conclusion: Adults who claimed to have had PLM in their childhood do not appear to have suffered great repercussions in their lives. Memories tend to fade with age, some childhood phobias and philias persist, and they generally exhibit good mental health, high quality of life, high levels of intrinsic religiosity, and hold a belief in reincarnation.