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Questionnaire Study: Preliminary Report
The
following is a preliminary report on results from
a survey given to 308 former group members in
1991. Two reports related to this survey have
been published in AFF's Cultic Studies Journal,
one concerning terminology and one involving the
development of a measure, the Group Psychological
Abuse Scale.
If a reader
would like to use any of the information in this
preliminary report for educational or research
efforts, please write to AFF's executive
director, Dr. Michael Langone, before doing so.
The
questionnaire study had the following general
goals:
1.
Collect demographic data on diverse
ex-member populations.
2.
Collect data on background factors,
especially those that may relate to joining the
group or to post-group distress.
3.
Evaluate post-group distress levels and
attitudes toward the group and helping resources.
4.
Collect data on group characteristics and
attempt to extract the essence of "cultism" as
seen by this population of subjects.
5.
Examine the relationships among selected
variables. (I cannot report on this aspect of
the study because we are still analyzing the
data.)
Demographics
and Background Factors
·
308 persons
completed the questionnaire. ·
64% were
female; 36% were male. ·
24.8 was the
average age at which subjects joined the group. ·
6.70 was the
average number of years subjects belonged to the
group. ·
36.8 was the
average age of subjects when they completed the
questionnaire. ·
13.44 was
the average number of years of schooling before
joining the group. ·
5.10 was the
average number of persons in the subjects' family
or origin. (Although confirmation has not yet
been obtained, I believe that this figure is
higher than the national average by perhaps as
much as one person.) ·
67% of
subjects' parents were living together when they
joined the group, 33% were not. (I do not yet
know how these figures compare to national
norms.) ·
18% of
subjects were married, 9% divorced, 3% separated,
and 70% single when they joined the group. ·
41% were
married, 19% divorced, 4% separated, and 36%
single at the time of completing the
questionnaire. ·
Pre-group
religious affiliations were: None, 13%;
Protestant, 47%; Catholic, 24%; Jewish, 8%;
Other, 8%. ·
Post-group
religious affiliations were: None, 46%;
Protestant, 30%; Catholic, 8%; Jewish, 5%; Other,
12%. ·
On average,
2 months passed between the subject's first
contact with the group and his/her becoming a
member. ·
The
following number (% of total sample in
parentheses) of subjects left their groups
because of:
185
(60%) on their own, without formal
outside assistance
39
(13%) involuntary deprogramming
53
(17%) exit counseling / voluntary
deprogramming
29
(9%) the group asked them to leave
5
(2%) as a result of a legal
conservatorship
29
(9%) assistance from a mental health
professional
15
(5%) assistance from another
professional
85
(28%) other
Some
subjects checked more than one reason; therefore,
the figures add up to more than 100%.
·
With regard
to satisfaction with the group experience,
subjects gave the following ratings:
6% very satisfying
21% satisfying
10% neutral
21% unsatisfying
42% very unsatisfying
·
With regard
to benefit/harm of the experience, the subjects
gave the following ratings:
3% very beneficial
11%
beneficial
8% neutral
33% harmful
44% very harmful
·
With regard
to the extent to which group pressures made it
difficult to leave, the subjects gave the
following ratings:
47%
very difficult
25%
difficult
4% not sure
11%
mildly difficult
14%
no difficulty
·
With regard
to the question of whether they had ever been
"depressed for one week or more without letup,"
subjects responded as follows:
27
(9%) said they had been so depressed
before the group experience
153
(50%) said they had been so depressed
during the group experience
172
(56%) said they had been so depressed
after the group experience
·
With regard
to whether or they had been victims of sexual
abuse, subjects responded as follows:
69
(22%) had been victimized before the
group experience
34
(11%) had been victimized during the
group experience
10
(3%) had been victimized after the
group experience
·
With regard
to whether or not they had attempted suicide,
subjects responded as follows:
28
(9%) had attempted suicide before the
group experience
20
(6%) had attempted suicide during the
group experience
23
(7%) had attempted suicide after the
group experience
·
With regard
to whether or not they had experienced severe
anxiety attacks, subjects responded as follows:
58
(19%) had such attacks before the group
experience
97
(31%) had such attacks during the group
experience
105
(34%) had such attacks after the group
experience
·
With regard
to how they initially made contact with the
group, subjects responded as follows (some
subjects checked more than one item, so the
totals are greater than 100%):
34
(11%) through a recruiter on a college
campus
40
(13%) through a meeting on the street
(not on campus)
106
(34%) through a friend who joined the
group
76
(25%) through a boyfriend or girlfriend
who joined the group
23
(7%) through a brother or sister who
joined the group
62
(20%) through reading materials
101
(33%) other
·
43% of the
subjects were students when they joined the group
10% were
high school students
27% were
undergraduates
6% were
graduate students
·
Of those who
were students when they joined, 38% dropped out
of school after joining the group.
·
With regard
to whether or not they had received professional
counseling or psychological/psychiatric care,
subjects responded as follows:
42% said they received professional
counseling before the group experience
22% said they received professional
counseling during the group experience
70% said they received professional
counseling after the group experience
15% said their care included
hospitalization
·
With regard
to how beneficial/harmful the group was for the
majority of members, subjects responded as
follows:
1% saw the group as very beneficial
4% saw the group as beneficial
7% gave a neutral reply
37% saw the group as harmful
51% saw the group as very harmful
Post-Group
Distress and Attitudes Toward Helping Resources
The
following are selected indicators of distress
during the first six months after leaving the
group. A rating of 1 = the person was not at all
troubled by the item; 2 = he/she was troubled a
little; 3 = unable to say; 4 = a moderate amount;
5 = a great deal. The figure indicates the
percentage (of total subject population) of
persons rating the item. The totals do not
always add up to 100% because percentages for
individual ratings have been approximated to
whole numbers.
Item
1 2
3 4 5
medical
ills
4% 20% 3%
16% 16%
conflicts
with loved
ones
25% 22% 7%
22% 24%
anxiety/fear/worry
9% 11% 1%
25% 58%
indecisiveness
9% 17% 6%
20% 48%
difficulty
concentrating
12% 14% 7%
25% 42%
vivid
flashbacks to
group
15% 10% 3%
25% 46%
feeling that
family friends watch you too closely
41% 13% 10%
18% 18%
guilt about
what you did when in the group
17% 22% 5%
24% 32%
desire to
return to the
group
55% 15% 3%
18% 9%
desire to
help friends in
group
12% 16% 5%
23% 45%
a longing to
restore certain aspects
of group
experience
28% 21% 7%
23% 21%
despair/hopelessness/helplessness 17%
18% 5% 20% 41%
unable to
manage day-to-day
tasks 29%
28% 5% 20% 18%
depression
11% 20% 5%
26% 41%
anger toward
group
leader
27% 13% 3%
22% 54%
fear of
physical harm by
group
45% 15% 2%
17% 21%
"floating"
among very different states of mind
20% 20% 5%
26% 29%
low
self-confidence
11% 14% 3%
24% 48%
feel like
live in unreal
world
30% 14% 5%
18% 33%
feelings of
shame/humiliation
18% 21% 4%
25% 32%
compulsive
need to talk about
group 19%
16% 3% 27% 36%
financial
difficulties
27% 12% 4%
19% 38%
difficulty
finding suitable
employment 40%
13% 6% 13% 27%
difficulty
making relationships
work 25%
20% 6% 20% 29%
·
With regard
to the question of how much contact subjects had
with organizations or persons concerned about
cultic groups, the subjects responded as follows:
9% no contact
28%
a little contact (e.g., received info)
33%
moderate amount of contact (e.g., attended
meetings/conferences;
multiple
phone contacts)
30% much contact (e.g, attended
meetings/multiple phone contacts;
volunteer
work)
·
On average
subjects were out of their groups 29 months
before they first made contact with such
organizations or persons, i.e., resources
specializing in helping former cultists.
·
Subjects
rated the helpfulness of these resources as
follows:
55%
very helpful
33%
helpful
6% neutral
7% harmful
0% very harmful
·
68% of
subjects knew of former members of their groups
who had not been in contact with such helping
resources. ·
These 68% of
subjects knew an average of 27.55 former members
who have not contacted helping resources. ·
The
following percentages of former members who have
not contacted helping resources were viewed as
having had difficulty adjusting to post-group
life:
6% hardly any of the former members
13%
some of the former members
4% about half
21%
most of the former members
30%
all or nearly all
25%
don't know
·
The
following items were rated on helpfulness. 1 =
very helpful; 2 = helpful; 3 = neutral/not sure;
4 = harmful; 5 = very harmful. The figures are
the percentage responding to that item.
Item
1 3 4 5
FOCUS
support meetings 38% 27% 32%
2% 1%
reading
materials 62%
30% 3% 1% 3%
Cult
Awareness Network National Conference
34% 60% 39% 0% 1%
professional mental health
counseling 48% 25%
21% 2% 3%
attendance at a rehab
facility
42% 7% 48% 1% 2%
exit
counseling
53% 16% 27% 1% 3%
discussions with
clergy
30% 32% 29% 7% 2%
legal
consultations
21% 25% 47% 3% 3%
discussions with other
individuals 62%
29% 4% 3% 2%
parents
22% 31% 33% 7% 7%
brothers/sisters
23% 32% 34% 7% 4%
spouse
49% 23% 21% 4% 3%
friends
49% 33% 14% 2% 2%
other
ex-cultists
70% 23% 2% 1% 3%
other
70% 11% 12% 2% 6%
·
With regard
to the question of how much pressure subjects
felt from helping organizations and persons to
adopt the helpers' attitudes toward the group,
subjects responded as follows:
3% great deal of pressure
5% much pressure
18%
can't say
23%
little pressure
52%
very little pressure
·
With regard
to the degree to which these helping resources
are similar to the subject's charismatic group on
the dimension of pressuring the subject to adopt
their attitudes, the subjects said that the group
and the helping resources were:
0% very similar
4% similar
15%
can't say
24%
different
58%
very different
·
With regard
to how the helping resouces have changed the
subjects' attitudes toward the group, subjects
responded as follows:
70%
they have made me feel more negative toward the
group
20%
they did not significantly affect my attitudes
6% they made me feel more positive toward
the group
22%
not applicable because the subject had little
contact with
the helping
resources
·
50% of
subjects believe they still need assistance in
adjusting to post-group life.
·
With regard
to how well they are currently coping with their
problems, subjects responded as follows:
40%
said they were coping "very well"
43%
said they were coping "adequately"
8% were not sure
8% said they were coping "inadequately"
3% said they were coping "very poorly"
·
35% said
financial limitations prevent them from receiving
the assistance they need.
·
The
following coping techniques were rated as very
helpful or helpful by 80% or more of the subjects
responding:
·
having
friends I can talk to
·
paying
attention to my need for rest and nutrition
·
studying
about how manipulative groups work
·
trying to
talk "with" people not "at" them
·
making sure
I take off time to think
·
trying to
cultivate patience
·
working on
hobbies or participating in sports
·
getting
opinions from other people
·
using my
emotions as signals about what my needs are
·
trying to
cultivate the courage to change what I can, the
serenity to accept what I can't, and the wisdom
to tell the difference
·
having one
person, a "buddy," to whom I can turn in
particularly tough times
·
reminding
myself that I don't have to solve all of my
problems now
Characteristics of the Group
The
questionnaire asks more than 100 questions
concerning the characteristics of the groups to
which subjects belonged. This was done
intentionally so that we could later apply
statistical procedures to derive the "essence" of
cultism as our subjects see it. Dr. William
Chambers, one of my colleagues on this study, has
derived a four-scale factor analysis from this
section of the questionnaire. The four factors
and the items loading on these factors will, when
we complete our analyses, constitute a scale for
evaluating the "cultishness" of groups. We hope
in future research to use this scale to compare
cultic groups to each other and to mainstream
groups. Unfortunately, we are not now ready to
report on this line of inquiry.
In order to
give you some sense of the items subjects seemed
to associate most with their groups, I will
merely list the ten items that received the
highest average ratings (some ratings are low
because the question was phrased in a "positive"
way, and subjects saw the item as "not
characteristic" of the group). Subjects used the
following ratings: 1 = not at all
characteristic; 2 = not characteristic; 3 = can't
say/not sure; 4 = characteristic; 5 = very
characteristic. The ten most highly rated items
and their average ratings were:
4.86
Members feel that they are part of a special
elite.
4.76
The group advocates or implies that when members
disagree with the group about fundamental
perceptions and beliefs, e.g., the morality of a
group action, the member must be wrong and should
try to discover what is wrong with his or her
thinking or perceptions.
1.28
Members are encouraged to question the group's
teachings.
1.39
Leaders respect the individual's right to
disagree.
1.40
The individual's goals and needs are more
important than those of the group or of the
leader(s).
4.60
The group has its own jargon that outsiders find
difficult to understand.
4.56
People who stay in the group do so because they
are deceived and manipulated.
1.49
Members are just as capable of independent
critical thinking as they were before they joined
the group.
4.53
Has totalitarian world view ("us" against
"them").
4.55
The group advocates or implies that it is the
sole source of truth.
Thank you
for your help and for your patience!
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