Who believes in repressed memories? The roles of gender, age, and education in a national sample of United States adults

Public belief in repressed memories remains widespread, yet little is known about the demographic predictors of this belief. We examined beliefs about the repression, permanence, and reliability of memory in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 1,545). Nearly all participants (94%) expressed belief in unconscious repressed memory. Belief in repression was high across all groups, with the highest rates among women without a college education. Age patterns varied by construct: Generation Z reported the strongest endorsement of repression, permanence beliefs increased steadily with age, and reliability beliefs followed a nonlinear trajectory with dips among younger adults and rebounds in midlife. These findings confirm that memory misconceptions remain pervasive and are structured by gender, age, and education. Because nearly all demographic subgroups still show very high endorsement, these misconceptions pose serious challenges for legal, clinical, and public education contexts.