IAN STEVENSON
Division of Personality Studies, Department of Psychiatric Medicine
University of Virginia Health System
P. O. Box 800152, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0152
e-mail: ips6r@virginia.edu
ERLENDUR HARALDSSON
Department of Psychology, University of Reykjavik, Reykjavik, Iceland
e-mail: erlendur@hi.is

Abstract—The principal features of two series of cases suggestive of reincarnation
in Lebanon were compared. The series were investigated about a
generation apart by two different investigators. In three important features, the
two series were closely similar; in other features they were not similar, probably
because of differences in the thoroughness of investigation in the two
series.
Keywords: reincarnation cases—stability of features

Introduction
Children who claim to remember a previous life (PL) occur in many different countries and cultures. Investigators can find them most readily in South Asia and western Asia, but they occur also in Europe and North America (Stevenson, l987/2001). In many cases, inquiries have shown that the child’s statements correspond to facts and events in the life of a particular deceased person. In many of these verified or ‘‘solved’’ cases, investigators have found no normal means whereby information about the concerned deceased person could have reached the subject of the case. In other cases, however, careful inquiries have failed to verify the child’s statements; such cases remain ‘‘unsolved’’ (Cook et al, l983). In addition to the child’s statements, many cases include behavior by the child that is unusual in the child’s family but that corresponds to the child’s statements or to the life and death of the deceased person. For example, among 47 cases in which the child described a previous life that ended in death by drowning, 30 (64%) subjects had a phobia of being immersed in water (Stevenson, 1990). In many other cases the subject has birthmarks or birth defects that correspond closely in location and shape to wounds or other marks on the concerned deceased person (Stevenson, 1997). Despite the evidence supporting a paranormal interpretation of some of these cases, some critics have attributed them to a combination of normal (but Journal of Scienti. c Exploration, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 283–289, 2003 0892-3310/03 283 unnoticed) communications, fantasies (deriving in large part from the belief in reincarnation in the cultures where most of the cases are found), and coincidence. A condensed name for this interpretation is the ‘‘socio-psychological hypothesis’’ (Brody, 1979; Littlewood, 2001; Schouten & Stevenson, 1998). We believe that the stability of some features of cases of the reincarnation type weighs against the view that they derive from fantasies; we remain fully aware, however, that the cases minimally require evidence of a paranormal process before we can invoke reincarnation as their best interpretation. Two previous examinations of the stability of features of these cases over time, in India (Pasricha & Stevenson, l987) and in Turkey (Keil & Stevenson, 1999), have shown such stability. In India, the stability occurred in cases two generations apart; in Turkey, the compared series of cases were one generation apart.

This article reports a third study of the stability of features of cases of the reincarnation type, this one concerning cases among the Druses of Lebanon. The Druses (sometimes spelled Druzes) form a fairly compact and substantial religious group in Lebanon and neighboring countries. Although their religion originally derived from Islam, the Druses now regard it as separate from Islam. Reincarnation is a central tenet of their beliefs. They have numerous cases of children who claim to remember previous lives (Stevenson, 1966/l974, 1980). One of us (I.S.) investigated Druse cases of the reincarnation type between l964 and l981. The civil wars in Lebanon then interrupted investigations there. E.H. resumed the investigations in 1998–2001. The median year of investigation for the I.S. cases was l972 and that for the E.H. cases was l999. The two series, therefore, occurred about a generation apart.

Methods of Investigation
Interviews with firsthand witnesses of the child’s statements and of any unusual behavior on the part of the child formed the principal method of investigation. In solved cases, qualified informants for the life of the identified deceased person, such as a widow or widower, were interviewed. When feasible, we checked dates provided by informants’ memories against Identity Cards or other records. (Identity Cards, however, were often unreliable in Lebanon in the l970s and l980s.) Relevant medical records were also sought and copied. We made notes as the informants talked. Skilled interpreters assisted us in most cases. We recorded demographic data on a Registration Form. A checklist (on the Form) of salient features permitted us to conduct somewhat systematic interviews, so that, in general, we elicited similar information about the different cases. Nevertheless, the emphases of our investigations differed to some extent. In his investigations, I.S. concentrated on examining the evidence for or against paranormal interpretations of the case. In contrast, E.H. concentrated on psychological characteristics of the subjects. He satisfied himself concerning the authenticity of the cases he wished to include in a program of psychological testing, which would be similar to one he had conducted for cases in Sri Lanka 284 I. Stevenson & E. Haraldsson (Haraldsson, 1995, l997; Haraldsson, Fowler, & Periyannanpillai, 2000; Haraldsson & Abu-Izzeddin, 2002). Therefore, with a few exceptions, he did not investigate the cases of his series in as much detail as I.S. had for his series. Coders, examining the array of details in the case notes, judged the ‘‘thoroughness’’ of each investigation. They judged 29 (more than half) of the I.S.’s cases to have been ‘‘thoroughly’’ or ‘‘fairly thoroughly’’ investigated, whereas only 4 (13%) of E.H.’s cases were so judged. Nevertheless, E.H. obtained sufficient data about the cases he studied for the purposes of the present comparisons. For some other comparisons the data from the E.H. series were insufficient. The data from the Registration Forms, field notes, and any printed records were entered in a codebook and then into SPSS Ver. 10.1 so that we could make the comparisons we wished.

Tables 1 and 2 summarize the results of the principal comparisons between
the series. They provide for each variable the number of cases from which the
data derived.

Discussion
Before discussing the similarities and differences between the two series
of cases, we will mention that some demographic features of the cases in
both series are not representative of the general population in Lebanon. Unfortunately,
we have few data to support this statement. We have not learned of
any accurate vital statistics about the population of Lebanon for the years of the
I.S. series. The collection of such statistics was at first inhibited for political
reasons and then made impossible during the civil wars of the 1970s and l980s.
For 1999, the life expectancy in Lebanon was 68 years for men and 72 years for
women (United Nations, 2001). The mean age at death of the previous
personalities was 34 in the I.S. series and 38 in the E.H. series. We have not
obtained any figures for the incidence of violent death in the general population
of Lebanon. Nevertheless, we believe the incidence of violent death in both
series far exceeds that in the general population.
We should mention that the cases among the Druses differ from those of many
other cultures (but not all) in the absence of claims to remember the life of a
person of the opposite sex. Also, birthmarks and birth defects rarely occur in
cases among the Druses.
The features of the two series were similar in some important respects, but
differed in others. They were similar in such salient features as the age of first
TABLE 1
Features of Subject’s Side of Case
Variable I.S. Series (N ˆ 55) E.H. Series (N ˆ 30)
Mean age of first speaking of PL 31 months (n ˆ 37)a 32 months (n ˆ 29)
Mean age when stopped speaking of PL 161 months (n ˆ 29) 67 months (n ˆ 4)
Mean number of statements subject made 23 (n ˆ 51) 10.3 (n ˆ 30)
Mention of mode of death 82% (n ˆ 51) 83% (n ˆ 30)
Mention of previous personality’s name 88% (n ˆ 49) 63% (n ˆ 30)
Mention or correct indication of previous
personality’s residence
56% (n ˆ 55) 53% (n ˆ 30)
Phobia 77% (n ˆ 30) 42% (n ˆ 24)
a Lower case ‘‘n’’ indicates number of cases furnishing information for this item.
Stability of Case Features 287 speaking of the previous life, mention of the mode of death by the subject, and the high incidence of a violent mode of death. A noteworthy difference between the two series occurred in the age when the subjects stopped speaking about the previous life. We may explain this difference by the different ages of the subjects at the time the cases of the two series were investigated. As mentioned, E.H. sought to study subjects who were children, and the oldest subject in his series was only 13 years old. I.S. included many subjects who were older children or even already adults. Only four of the children in E.H.’s series had stopped speaking spontaneously about the previous life at the time of his investigations. I.S. required verification from the previous personality’s family members before he considered a case solved. E.H. could not state how many of the cases in his series were solved. He only recorded that 93% of the subjects’ families believed the case with which they were concerned had been solved. The difference in verification may explain the lower incidence of cases considered solved in the I.S. series. Some other differences between the two series, such as the number of statements the subjects made and the incidence of phobias, may derive from the greater attention I.S. gave, both to the recording and independent verification of the subject’s statements and to evaluating the appropriateness of any unusual behavior on the part of the subject to the life or behavior of the previous personality. Different informants often remember different statements they heard the subject make. Cases judged to have been investigated ‘‘thoroughly’’ or ‘‘fairly thoroughly’’ have more informants. For the four cases that E.H. investigated thoroughly, the mean number of statements was 18, which was almost twice as many as the mean for the 30 E.H. cases considered as a whole. The similarities between the two series—the age of first speaking of the previous life, the mention of the mode of death by the subject, and the high incidence of a violent mode of death—show that the cases of children who claim to remember a previous life are a recurrent phenomenon. Although the stability of some features of the cases over many years seems important to us as weighing against their interpretation as fantasies, a judgment about reincarnation as a better interpretation depends on evidence of paranormal processes in individual cases.
TABLE 2
Identification and Features of Previous Personality
Variable I.S. Series (N ˆ 55) E.H. Series (N ˆ 30)
Considered solveda 74% (n ˆ 55)b 93% (n ˆ 30)
Mode of death violent 73% (n ˆ 49) 80% (n ˆ 30)
Mean age at death (in years) 34 (n ˆ 36) 38 (n ˆ 14)
Mean interval between previous personality’s
death and subject’s birth (in months)
23 (n ˆ 51) 46 (n ˆ 12)
a See text for different criteria for judging a case solved in the two series.
b Lower case ‘‘n’’ indicates number of cases furnishing information for this item.
288 I. Stevenson & E. Haraldsson

Acknowledgments
The research of the Division of Personality Studies is supported by the Lifebridge Foundation, the Azuma Nagamasa Memorial Fund, the Bernstein Brothers Foundation, Richard Adams, and several anonymous donors. The Bial Foundation supported E.H.’s investigations in Lebanon of cases of the reincarnation type among the Druses. We thank Dawn E. Hunt and Martha Mercier for careful checking of the data in the paper. Dr. Emily Kelly improved it with numerous critical comments. We benefited from a careful reading of the paper by Dr. Jim Tucker. Dr. Alan Gauld and Dr. Jürgen Keil both provided cautionary advice about the interpretation of our results.

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Reincarnation for the Druze Reincarnation: It's Background REINCARNATION: Its meaning and consequences by Ernest Valea Reincarnation in world religions Past-life recall as proof for reincarnation Reincarnation and cosmic justice Reincarnation and Christianity Precedent at Dar al-Hikma - Chapter 10 from Metaphysics by Default. Evidence of Reincarnation Prominent people who accepted reincarnation and/or appeared to recall past lives Reincarnation: Socrates to Salinger The Fifth Ecumenical Council, The Second Council Of Constantinople, A.D. 553, The Anathemas Against Origen. New Clothes for Old Souls There Is No Death Druze Belief in Reincarnation The Similarity of Features of Reincarnation Type Cases over Many Years A Third Study New Article The Merciful Veil of Oblivion New Article The Explanations About Evolution and Reincarnation of the Spirit New Article The Divine Gift of Reincarnation. External Link The Reincarnation In the Bible I External Link More about The Reincarnation In the Bible II External Link Reincarnation and Western Religions- The Controversy External Link The divine law of reincarnation as an spiritual doctrine External Link Reincarnation and Western Religions -The Scriptures External Link Reincarnation and Western Religions -Conclusion External Link Reincarnation and Human Science External Link A Parable: The many options of reincarnation External Link Paul Misunderstood External Link