reply to post by grapesofraft
I have read this article before and others by the author and I think you are grossly misrepresenting Alien Abduction experiences as that of being an
experience of sexual abuse.
Let me say, as many will already know here, I am extremely sceptical of Alien Abductions. But I think you really need to qualify the link you provide
in the OP. Because it raises some interesting points actually supporting Alien Abduction experiences.
Earlier this year, Clancy and McNally reported on another study that found those who recalled childhood sexual abuse or abduction by aliens
experience higher rates of sleep paralysis than those who do not make such claims. Strikingly, the first group also scored high on
underlying traits of fantasy proneness, paranormal interests and experiences, and inability to relate socially to
others.
OP's LINK
Firstly, the study mentioned in the ARTICLE focuses on Sleep Paralysis and the Cultural differences used to explain it, or that attributes a meaning
or cause for Sleep Paralysis. Secondly, ALL the people interviewed for Alien Abductions and sleep paralysis were specifically interviewed because they
ALL linked sleep paralysis with the Alien Abduction experience. When Clancy and McNally compared these to how victims of sexual abuse accounted for
Sleep Paralysis(if it was present in the individual), this is what they found.
Taken from Vol. 42 of Transcultural Psychiatry.
tps.sagepub.com...
In this article, we summarise two studies. In the first study, we assessed 10 individuals who reported abduction by space aliens and whose
claims were linked to apparent episodes of sleep paralysis during which hypnopompic hallucinations were interpreted as alien beings. In the
second study, adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse more often reported sleep paralysis than did a
control group. Among the 31 reporting sleep paralysis, only one person linked it to abuse memories. This person was among the six recovered
memory participants who reported sleep paralysis (i.e. 17% rate of interpreting it as abuse-related). People rely on personally plausible cultural
narratives to interpret these otherwise baffling sleep paralysis episodes.
The only thing this study is finding is the significance attributed to Sleep Paralysis by those that report an experience.
In Alien Abduction, they Interviewed 10 people that attributed the CAUSE of their sleep paralysis as being caused by Aliens.
In sexual abuse victims that experienced sleep paralysis ONLY 1 person claimed it was related to their Sexual Abuse.
Also the study notes that they had a control for victims of sexual abuse and this group had sleep paralysis but the study group(sexual abuse victims)
has a higher incidence of sleep paralysis.
ALL groups, Alien Abduction(specifically chosen because of sleep paralysis), the control group, and the Victims of Sexual Abuse all had some
individuals that experienced sleep paralysis.
Now, we can use or interpret this in so many ways it is not funny.
We could just as well say in a thread that those people who had been victims of sexual abuse were in fact suppressing an Alien Abduction experience by
ignoring the significance of sleep paralysis as a sign of Alien Abduction.
We could also belittle some of the victims of sexual abuse(the study attributes 17% of the victims it looked at as attributing the sleep paralysis
experience to sexual abuse) by linking Sleep paralysis as evidence of these victims creating a scenario of abuse to "explain" their sleep
paralysisexperience, because that is what you are doing to Alien Abduction experiencers by using Clancy in the manner you do.
So are you prepared to accept then that 17% of all people who claim they are victims of sexual abuse are making it up. I mean we can do that with
studies like this that link the two subjects together by one characteristic. Especially when one subject(alien abduction experience) is approached
from a highly sceptical attitude and the authors already have accepted "their own" explanation for alien abductions, which McNally and Clancy do
with hypnopompic hallucinations.
This is where you thread goes WRONG in MHO. I find from this report that the high incidence of sleep paralysis amongst Alien Abduction experiences
when compared to Sexual Abuse Victims as disproving a case were, as you suggest, Alien Abduction as really being Sexual Abuse. READ the article,
because in the study by Clancy, sleep paralysis appears to be insignificant in cases of sexual abuse, it is not linked by a large percentage of
victims to the experience. This is the exact opposite with Alien Abduction experiencers.
This supports Alien Abduction as an experience all of its own and not explained by an experience of sexual abuse. This is why Clancy and McNally
provide their own explanation as hypnopompic hallucination.
We could say that Because Victims of sexual abuse have sleep paralysis that Alien Abduction experiencers are experiencing something real because they
too have sleep paralysis, like those who are victims of sexual abuse sleep paralysis is a hall mark of an experience because its rate of incidence is
higher than the control group used in the study.
I actually used the article from the OP in my own thread, but I was particularly careful in avoiding using the topic you have used because Clancey and
McNAlly are only looking at Cultural explanations for sleep paralysis.
Clancey and McNally never question the validity of the claims of the victims of sexual abuse even though many of these individuals gained their
memories back in exactly the same manner that Alien Abduction Experiencers do. In that they were recovered memories.
Yet McNally and Clancy readily cast these explanation for experiencers.
we assessed 10 individuals who reported abduction by space aliens and whose claims were linked to apparent episodes of sleep paralysis during
which hypnopompic hallucinations were interpreted as alien beings.
Here Clancy and McNally assume that hypnopompic hallucinations are present
in all the abduction experiencers claims. This is because they are assuming that the sleep paralysis is exactly the same as that of a clinical
definition of sleep paralysis. They include the hallucination as a given and attribute that as the explanation for the "experience" but have
pre-ordained the explanation given by the individual as one that is personally culturally plausible or in other words these people had or have sleep
paralysis, they hallucinated and they believe it was a alien because personally this is plausible in their culture.
But let me ask you this, because this is what really bugs me about the Alien Abduction Experience as a personal and culturally plausible explanation
for Sleep Paralysis.
When has is ever been acceptable to tell your friends, your family, your work colleagues, your GP, shrink....even yourself.....that yeah I was
abducted by Aliens, everyone will accept that. I mean it
is personally plausible?
People are more accepting of an explanation of sexual abuse to explain alien abduction.
How is that for a personally and culturally plausible?
You are a perfect example of that.
Think about that.
Because that is how culturally unacceptable it is to have a belief that you were abducted by Aliens. People would rather explain it as a horrific case
of sexual abuse.
And then use a study about sleep paralysis and the vastly different individuals that experience it to try and prove it.
Here is a thread I started on the Topic. I hope you look at it.
Alien Abduction and Contactees: A new religion?
Edit for linkages and general spelling repairs
[edit on 14-7-2009 by atlasastro]
) I have a memory of being attacked by a 'ghost' when I got sent to my room. This post has
made me wonder if it really wan't a ghost after all. It was a ghost that looked like it was wearing a sheet for pet's sake. Think Halloween when
he's wearing the glasses. 
