8 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 8, 2017
participants recognised that an adjustment
needed to be made to more independent living
arrangements outside of Centrepoint. Themes
reflecting isolation were present in many of the
participants’ accounts of their adult lives. One
participant, for example, described how she felt
the stark differences between her life at
Centrepoint and a new experience of living
alone:
I just didn’t have anyone that I could
share and I was really not used to that. I
had always had close friends or
someone there that I could talk to, and it
was strange to come home after a night
out with a bunch of friends and be sad
by myself.
The contrast between communal life at
Centrepoint and life outside was described in
some cases as being exacerbated by difficulties
in relating to outsiders:
I didn’t have the social skills to, to really
deal with normal people. Outside
people—they were always bit scary to
me.
Participants provided other explanations for
difficulties in integrating socially outside of
Centrepoint. Narratives spoke of an awareness
of being different, with some participants
explaining that they felt that their experiences at
Centrepoint had set them apart from others their
age. Participants also described how Centrepoint
had presented a negative perception of the
outside world, and how they had struggled to
overcome their learned prejudices against
outsiders.
Accounts also suggested that the Centrepoint
experience had left some participants wary of
manipulation or the misuse of authority, as the
following extract suggests:
I kind of, I watch people a lot more and
check them out before, and start talking
to them, you know, the third or fourth
time I meet them rather than being
straight in there.
Themes of mistrust were linked in many
narratives to participants’ experiences of having
had their sexual boundaries transgressed at
Centrepoint.
But in contrast there were also narrative
accounts that emphasised the value of social
experiences that participants had had at
Centrepoint and highlighted positive impacts on
their adult lives. Accounts spoke of the way that
Centrepoint had helped participants to develop
social confidence:
It basically gave you the opportunity to
be an adult and be involved with adults,
and not just adults that are your parents.
So I remember actually hearing that the
teachers commenting on these kids that
were going through from Centrepoint,
saying, “These kids have the most
amazing people skills we’ve ever come
across.”
From this perspective, the range of social
interactions at Centrepoint was seen to have
been important in allowing participants the
opportunity to practice their social skills across
the diverse range of adults and children at the
community.
The shift from living communally at Centrepoint
to the relative isolation of life outside of the
community was recognised as an important area
of adjustment in participant accounts. There
were strong themes that emphasised loneliness, a
sense of being different, and difficulties in
trusting others after Centrepoint. This finding is
consistent with the clinical observations of
former cult/NRM members (Singer &Lalich,
1995) but also provides some insight into the
reasons participants give for these experiences.
Nonetheless, some accounts highlighted the
social confidence that communal living provided
to former members, which corresponds with the
literature on the prosocial benefits of
communities (Sargisson &Sargent, 2004).
Becoming a Parent
Taking on the role of a parent emerged as a
significant adjustment period in participants’
accounts of their lives after Centrepoint. While
this task would be widely recognised to require
adjustment for any adult, particular experiences
at Centrepoint were seen by participants as
impacting on their ability to meet the demands
participants recognised that an adjustment
needed to be made to more independent living
arrangements outside of Centrepoint. Themes
reflecting isolation were present in many of the
participants’ accounts of their adult lives. One
participant, for example, described how she felt
the stark differences between her life at
Centrepoint and a new experience of living
alone:
I just didn’t have anyone that I could
share and I was really not used to that. I
had always had close friends or
someone there that I could talk to, and it
was strange to come home after a night
out with a bunch of friends and be sad
by myself.
The contrast between communal life at
Centrepoint and life outside was described in
some cases as being exacerbated by difficulties
in relating to outsiders:
I didn’t have the social skills to, to really
deal with normal people. Outside
people—they were always bit scary to
me.
Participants provided other explanations for
difficulties in integrating socially outside of
Centrepoint. Narratives spoke of an awareness
of being different, with some participants
explaining that they felt that their experiences at
Centrepoint had set them apart from others their
age. Participants also described how Centrepoint
had presented a negative perception of the
outside world, and how they had struggled to
overcome their learned prejudices against
outsiders.
Accounts also suggested that the Centrepoint
experience had left some participants wary of
manipulation or the misuse of authority, as the
following extract suggests:
I kind of, I watch people a lot more and
check them out before, and start talking
to them, you know, the third or fourth
time I meet them rather than being
straight in there.
Themes of mistrust were linked in many
narratives to participants’ experiences of having
had their sexual boundaries transgressed at
Centrepoint.
But in contrast there were also narrative
accounts that emphasised the value of social
experiences that participants had had at
Centrepoint and highlighted positive impacts on
their adult lives. Accounts spoke of the way that
Centrepoint had helped participants to develop
social confidence:
It basically gave you the opportunity to
be an adult and be involved with adults,
and not just adults that are your parents.
So I remember actually hearing that the
teachers commenting on these kids that
were going through from Centrepoint,
saying, “These kids have the most
amazing people skills we’ve ever come
across.”
From this perspective, the range of social
interactions at Centrepoint was seen to have
been important in allowing participants the
opportunity to practice their social skills across
the diverse range of adults and children at the
community.
The shift from living communally at Centrepoint
to the relative isolation of life outside of the
community was recognised as an important area
of adjustment in participant accounts. There
were strong themes that emphasised loneliness, a
sense of being different, and difficulties in
trusting others after Centrepoint. This finding is
consistent with the clinical observations of
former cult/NRM members (Singer &Lalich,
1995) but also provides some insight into the
reasons participants give for these experiences.
Nonetheless, some accounts highlighted the
social confidence that communal living provided
to former members, which corresponds with the
literature on the prosocial benefits of
communities (Sargisson &Sargent, 2004).
Becoming a Parent
Taking on the role of a parent emerged as a
significant adjustment period in participants’
accounts of their lives after Centrepoint. While
this task would be widely recognised to require
adjustment for any adult, particular experiences
at Centrepoint were seen by participants as
impacting on their ability to meet the demands
