Long-Term Effects of a Cult Childhood on Attachment, Intimacy, and Close Relationships: Results of an In-Depth Interview
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Long‑Term Effects of a Cult Childhood on Attachment, Intimacy, and Close Relationships: Results of an In‑Depth Interview Study Chantal Kern1,2 · Johannes Jungbauer1,2 Accepted: 9 October 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Cults are religious organizations requiring total commitment and submission from their members. They form a highly controlling environment with rigid structures to suppress individuality. Being born and raised within a cultic community has a significant impact on the life course of those affected. Especially after exit or exclusion, second generation ex-members commonly have to face different challenges. This study aimed to investigate these cultic childhood experiences and their long-term effects on the individual development and the further lives of those affected. Former cult members (n = 16) who were born and raised in cultic groups participated in an in-depth qualitative interview study. The findings indicate that growing up in a family belonging to a cult is often associated with serious restrictions, burdens and even traumatization. Later in life, this may lead to the development of self-esteem problems, mental disorders, and difficulties in intimate relationships. Individual life experiences should be taken into account when providing help for those who have grown up in a cult and managed to get out of it. Based on the study results, recommendations for psycho-social practice are presented in this paper. Keywords Children in cults · Family · Attachment · Intimacy · Close relationships
Introduction For a long time, there has been an extensive discussion on the criteria under which a certain group can be described as a cult, and on the consequences of this labeling. Alternate designations are often requested in order to avoid possible defaming effects of the label, especially on religious communities (Woody 2009). Therefore, there is no commonly accepted definition of cults. However, the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) adheres to the term and utilizes the more general definition by the sociologist Benjamin Zablocki, who described a cult as “an ideological organization held together by charismatic relations and demanding total commitment” (Bradshaw 2015, p. 8). Furthermore, Lalich and McLaren (2018) elaborated that a cult “stifles individuality and critical thinking, requires intense commitment and obedience to a person and/or an ideology, and restricts
* Chantal Kern [email protected] 1
Catholic University of Applied Sciences, Aachen, Germany
Institute for Health Research and Social Psychiatry, Robert‑Schuman‑Strasse 25, 52066 Aachen, Germany
2
or eliminates personal autonomy in favor of the cult’s worldview and the leader’s wants and needs” (p. 5). Regardless of a cult’s belief or size, these communities are at high risk of abusing their members (Langone 2001). In such cases, they are also referred to as closed and high-demand or destructive groups. According to several theories (Hassan 2015; La
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