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Questionnaire Study: Preliminary Report
Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.
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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