Cult membership: What factors contribute to joining or leaving?

Abstract

We assumed that, as in the case of addiction disorders, former cult members exhibit vulnerability and protective factors for cult commitment and membership. Thus, the aim of our study was to identify vulnerability factors that are involved in the commitment and in the retention in the group, as well as protective factors that are involved in the departure. We interviewed 31 former cult members, using semi-structured interviews to evaluate their clinical profile, characteristics of the cultic group and their experience in the group. Cult membership and addictive disorders share some characteristics: persistence despite damage, initial psychological relief, occupation of an exclusive place in the thoughts of members, high psychiatric comorbidity prevalence, high accessibility, leading to social precariousness and the importance of familial support when leaving. Three main axes of improvement were highlighted: regulations concerning cults in order to limit their social presence, which appears to be a vulnerability factor for commitment; social and therapeutic follow-up when a member leaves a group so that social precariousness does not become an obstacle to departure; and familial support to maintain a link with the member, as the intervention of a person from outside of the group is an important protective factor for leaving.

Self-Appropriation between Social Mourning and Individuation: a Qualitative Study on Psychosocial Transition among Jehovah’s Witnesses

“…Indeed, religious affiliation has the potential to satisfy one's self-esteem needs through one's sense of communion or association with a desirable entity who guarantees literal immortality. The literature has widely confirmed these theories and, in particular, provides evidence that being more strongly identified as a member of a religious group may result in better subjective psychological well-being (Greenfield and Marks 2007;Rousselet et al 2017). Group affiliation is at the basis of the individual's social identity construction, and it can be useful for growth or depersonalization (Mael and Ashforth 2001).…”

Group Psychological Abuse and Psychopathological Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Psychological Stress

“…Members of abusive groups usually leave the group after a period of personal reflection in which they recognize the existence of contradictions, deception, and manipulation (Almendros, Carrobles, Rodríguez-Carballeira, & Gámez-Guadix, 2009;Rousselet, Duretete, Hardouin, & Grall-Bronnec, 2017). The leaving process is typically long and difficult, and survivors may continue to experience high levels of psychological stress due to environmental demands encountered in their daily lives (Coates, 2010;Matthews & Salazar, 2014).…”

The impact of group psychological abuse on distress: the mediating role of social functioning and resilience

“…Researchers have extensively documented psychologically abusive practices that may take place in group settings to recruit and retain followers (e.g. Coates, 2016 ; Rousselet, Duretete, Hardouin, & Grall-Bronnec, 2017 ; Saldaña, Antelo, Rodríguez-Carballeira, & Almendros, 2018 ).Group psychological abuse is defined as a process of systematic and continuous perpetration of pressure, control, manipulation, and coercion strategies that are inflicted on group members to achieve their submission (Rodríguez-Carballeira et al, 2015 ), their conformity to group norms and expectations (Coates, 2016 ), their obedience and compliance with group authority figures (Hassan & Shah, 2019 ), and their extreme dependency on the group. Group authority figures may take advantage of the control they have over victims of psychological abuse in order to obtain different personal benefits, such as financial resources, access to sexual relationships or ways of strengthening their power.…”

“…The socialization process that takes place within an abusive group has been compared with those identified in total institutions (Goffman, 1961 ), and usually involves isolation, intensive interaction with other members of the group, breaking up with the past, creating false identities, and restrictions on personal life (Boeri, 2002 ; Coates, 2010 ; Hassan & Shah, 2019 ). While members are in the group their social network is drastically reduced, as they are encouraged to distance themselves from their family and friends (Rousselet et al, 2017 ). Some members are also encouraged to stop studying or working and to dedicate most of their time and life to the group, and even their daily life decisions such as who to relate to or what to do in their free time can be controlled by the group (Lalich & Tobias, 2006 ; Matthews & Salazar, 2014 ).…”

“…Some members are also encouraged to stop studying or working and to dedicate most of their time and life to the group, and even their daily life decisions such as who to relate to or what to do in their free time can be controlled by the group (Lalich & Tobias, 2006 ; Matthews & Salazar, 2014 ). Thus, most survivors face significant social challenges after leaving the group as they seek to ‘get their life back’ (Kendall, 2016 ; Matthews & Salazar, 2014 ; Rousselet et al, 2017 ).…”