Abstract / Objective

Academic investigation of thousands of children who claim past-life memories has been developed worldwide for five decades. However, despite the scientific and clinical significance of this substantial body of research, most clinicians and scientists are not aware of it. This study aims to report a case of a child who claimed memories that match his deceased granduncle's life and to perform a literature review of the main characteristics and implications of children's past-life claims.

Method

We investigated the case through interviews with the child and first-hand witnesses, and conducted a documental analysis to verify possible associations between the child's statements and facts from the deceased's life. We also performed a CT scan of the child's skull to verify possible associations between anatomical features and a fatal wound from the alleged previous life.

Results

The child presented most key features typical of such cases of claimed past-life memories. He made 13 statements about the previous life; nine were correct (e.g., the mode of death and a toy the granduncle had) and four were undetermined. The child demonstrated eight unusual behaviors that matched the previous personality´s habits, interests, and manners. The child has a birth defect (a rare occipital concavity) that is compatible with the firearm injury that caused the death of his uncle.

Conclusions

The characteristics of the reported case fit the cross-cultural patterns of children who claim past-life memories, and it has scientific and clinical implications that need to be better known and investigated.

Introduction

The belief in reincarnation is widespread throughout places and cultures around the world, and it is a prominent part of Asian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.1 However, it is also fairly common among Western cultures such as in 33 % of the US population, 27 % of Western Europe and in 20 % of Eastern Europe.2,3 In Latin America, 20 % of people believe in reincarnation, and 37 % of Brazilians fully believe in it.4 Reincarnation may be defined as the idea that human personality (or a component of it) may survive after death and later become associated with another physical body; as a rebirth of the soul, self or spirit.5,6

Many reports of children claiming past-life memories have been registered throughout history and cultures. However, it was only in the 1960s that the academic investigation of these cases was systematically developed.7,8 Ian Stevenson (MD), Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia (USA).9 was the founder and the most prominent researcher in this field, recording nearly one thousand cases of children who claimed past-life memories. His studies and main findings have been replicated by researchers from Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.8

A recent review identified 78 scientific articles investigating claimed past-life memories.8 Most cases were investigated in Asian countries (74 %);10,11 concerned children who spontaneously claimed past-life memories (84 %), and in 41 % of them, included a claimed previous family that was identified and interviewed. The main investigated variables included past-life claims, birthmarks or congenital abnormalities allegedly corresponding to a fatal wound in a past life,12,13,14 phobias,15 gender non-conformity,16 skills not learned,17 and memories expressed during play.18 Most studies followed a methodological approach previously developed by Stevenson,5,8,19,20 and children's past-life claims showed similar patterns in different cultures across the world, such as Lebanon,21 Sri Lanka,22 India,11 USA,23,24 Africa,25 Brazil,20,26, 27, 28 Japan,29,30 Europe,31 and native peoples in North America.32,33 In all investigated cultures, most of the cases involved male children; the claims started spontaneously as soon as children were able to speak, faded gradually until completely stopping at about five to eight years of age, and were, in the majority of cases, associated with violent deaths.6 These cases are described in two categories: a) solved cases, those in which a deceased individual whose life matched the child's statements was identified; b) unsolved cases,34 those in which such a person was not identified. In a worldwide sample of 856 cases, 67 % were solved ones.35

Furthermore, cases of children who claimed past-life memories have raised questions about possible clinical implications for children and their families. Past-life claims have often been associated with phobias or post-traumatic stress disorder-like symptoms related to the mode of death in the claimed previous life (e.g. phobia of water related to drowning).15,36 In addition, birthmarks or congenital abnormalities were related to fatal wounds from the claimed past-life.12,13 Moreover, parents expressed fear of losing their children to the claimed previous family, or, in some cultures, children who claim past-life memories are believed to die earlier.37 The belief in life after death (or reincarnation) has been shown to be associated with lower levels of psychiatric disorders 38 and related to better coping with violent traumas or diseases.39,40 Finally, past-life claims also raise questions about the mind and brain relationship 41, 42, 43 and the possibility that consciousness can continue on after death.44,45

Despite the relevance and the large number of investigated cases of children who claim past-life memories worldwide, the work needs to be better known along with its possible implications on children's development and health. To illustrate and discuss the main features of children who claim memories of a previous life, we will report the case of a Brazilian child who claimed to be his granduncle who was murdered some decades before his birth. It will also add to the few studies that have been conducted in Brazilian territory,20,26, 27, 28 and we will analyze how much it fits the cross-cultural patterns of cases of the reincarnation type.

Methods

We followed the procedures recommended by the Consensus-based Clinical Case Reporting Guideline Development – CARE.46

Research setting and procedures

This case report is part of the larger study “National Survey of Cases of the Reincarnation Type in Brazil”. From March 2019 onward, we have been looking for Brazilians who claim past-life memories. We performed a broad dissemination of our study throughout television, social media, websites, conferences, scientific meetings, etc. Remote online interviews were performed with first-hand witnesses and, whenever possible, with the children.

We verified the main characteristics of the claimed past-life memories and measured the level of cases’ strength through the 22-item scale (Strength-of-case scale - SOCS) that assigns weights to features that strengthen the evidence of an anomalous connection between the child and the claimed past life. Four broad categories are considered: birthmarks or birth defects corresponding to a fatal wound in the previous life, statements that the child has made about the previous life, behaviors that appear related to the previous personality, and the level of acquaintance between the subject and the previous personality. Its score ranges from -10 to 79 47 (see Table 1). From the 451 participants who completed the informed consent and the online questionnaire, 16 were cases of children (up to 12 years old).

Author links open overlay panelLucam J. Moraes PhD a, Eric V. Ávila-Pires MSc a,Mariana S. Nolasco a,Thamires S. Rocha a,Jim B. Tucker MD b,Alexander Moreira-Almeida MD, PhD

For the rest of this report please use source link below