This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1988, Volume 5., Number 1, pages 23-43. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the bound volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.

Family Environment as a Factor in Vulnerability to Cult Involvement

Neil Maron, Ph. D.

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a relationship exists between parental perceptions of the family environment of cult members and vulnerability to cult involvement. Thirty-five families, recruited at a convention of the Citizens Freedom Foundation, a non-profit support group for parents whose offspring are/were in cults, were compared with 35 families recruited from community centers and churches in the New York Metropolitan Area. Data were collected retrospectively on self-report measures: the Moos Family Environment Scale and a Family Questionnaire. Univariate tests and discriminant analysis found that the families differed only in one of the ten subscales (Independence) of the Family Environment Scale, with the cult group having higher mean scale scores than the comparison group. In general, the results were consistent with Singer's (1979), Swope's (1980), Clark's (1981), and Carr's (198 1) findings that the familial factor is not important in cult involvement and that members are typically recruited within twelve months of experiencing one of eight stressful events.
 

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