Clinical and Personality Assessment of Participants in New Religions

Richardson, James T.

doi:10.1207/s15327582ijpr0503_1

Cited by 38 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(91 reference statements)

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“…The Hare Krishna devotees did not differ from the control group in general well-being, further confi rming that despite high levels of delusional ideation, they are no more distressed psychologically than normative samples (Richardson, 1995). Unlike Day & Peters (1999), however, the Hare Krishna group did not show signifi cantly more schizotypal traits than the control group, as measured by the STA (Claridge & Broks, 1984) and the O-LIFE (Mason et al, 1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Schizotypy, delusional ideation and well‐being in an American new religious movement population

Smith

Riley

Peters

2009

Clin Psychology and Psychoth

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This study extends two previous UK studies that looked at schizotypy in new religious movements (Peters, Day, McKenna & Orbach, 1999a; Day & Peters, 1999) using a similar religious subgroup from a different culture. A sample of American Hare Krishna devotees was compared with a non-religious control group on measures of delusional ideation, schizotypy and general well-being. The Hare Krishna group scored significantly higher than the control group on delusional ideation, but not other aspects of schizotypy or general well-being. They also scored higher on delusional conviction, but not distress and preoccupation. The findings provide cross-cultural confirmation for the notion of a continuum between normality and delusional thinking, and the need to consider delusional beliefs as multi-dimensional-psychological health seems to be predicated not on what you believe, but how you believe it.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Schizotypy, delusional ideation and well‐being in an American new religious movement population

Smith

Riley

Peters

2009

Clin Psychology and Psychoth

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“…2 Moreover, it seems that many individuals benefit from membership in the chosen group (cf. reviews on the topic, e.g., Murken, 1998;Richardson, 1985Richardson, , 1995Rochford, Purvis, & Eastman, 1989;Saliba, 1993Saliba, , 2003. Studies indicating psychological impairment of NRM members often suggest that its cause predated involvement with the group (Rochford et al, 1989).…”

Section: Benefits Of Membershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-chosen involvement in new religious movements (NRMs): well-being and mental health from a longitudinal perspective

Namini

Murken

2009

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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In spite of a cult debate that has lasted for some decades now, the controversy about the harmfulness of new religious movements (NRMs) continues. A core question remains whether current or past involvement with an NRM has an adverse effect on psychosocial adjustment. In this study, this question is investigated from a longitudinal perspective. First, an overview on previous research is given. Then findings from an empirical study on individuals who get involved with NRMs in Germany are reported. Life satisfaction, depression and anxiety are investigated over the course of three years for two groups: (a) ''stayers'': individuals who remained in the chosen NRM (n ¼ 51) and (b) ''leavers'': persons who left a Pentecostal parish during the course of the study (n ¼ 9). The results confirm findings from previous studies which indicate that joining an NRM is often preceded by some kind of (retrospectively reported) crisis and that well-being increases with involvement. Adaptation during involvement was comparable to that of comparison groups from the general population and remained relatively stable over time. Among several aspects of involvement related to health and well-being, religious sense of coherence and secure attachment to God were most often and most strongly correlated with the outcome measures. Surprisingly, the hypothesis of a crisis accompanying the exit from the Pentecostal parish was only partially supported. Overall, the study does not confirm the popular notion that membership in an NRM must be harmful. It calls for a sensitive handling of the topic.

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“…However, the average age of cult members is estimated to be between 25 and 40 (Schmitz & Friebe, 1992). For those in Bhagwan Shree Rajneesch, living in Oregon, the average age is 34 years (Richardson, 1995).…”

Section: Cults and Occultist Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concerning the second point about who joins cults, the available evidence suggests that members generally are no more pathological than are nonmembers (Richardson, 1995). In explaining why and how a person comes to join a cult, a more historical, less psychological approach may work best because circumstances play a decisive role.…”

Section: Cults and Occultist Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%