Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 4
Raised in Cultic Groups: The Impact on the Development of
Certain Aspects of Character
Lorna Goldberg, M.S.W.
Abstract
Although a number of articles and books have been written on the effects of
cultic involvement on adult personalities (e.g., Lifton, 1961 Lalich, 2004
Conway and Siegelman, 1978 Hassan, 1988 West and Martin, 1994 Singer,
1995), little has been written on the impact of being raised in cults on the
development of individuals‘ character or personality style. In this article, I
identify several common personality characteristics that I have seen in those
individuals raised in cults, and I consider how the cult environment influences
the formation of these particular characteristics.
Introduction
Moore and Fine (1990) define character as
the enduring, patterned functioning of an individual. As perceived by others, it
is the person‘s habitual way of thinking, feeling, and acting. Understood
psychodynamically, character is the person‘s habitual mode of reconciling
intrapsychic conflicts…. A person‘s character is made up of an integrated
constellation of character traits…. Character is most closely related to the
concept of an individual‘s defensive style. (pp.37–38)
Chessick (1993) adds,
One‘s personality or character must be understood as a ―readout‖ displaying
compromise formations made by the ego between the demands of the id, the
superego, and external reality. So character traits are a mixture of drive
derivatives, defenses, and superego components. They may be thought of as
developing over time out of the attempt to resolve intrapsychic conflict. There
is also a growing body of evidence that genetic and constitutional factors play
an important role in supplying potentials that may or may not be used by
each individual in the development of character traits. (p. 50)
In therapy I have found that it is important to uncover the unconscious fantasies that
underlie these characterological ways of relating to others. With the uncovering of the
fantasy that is at the core of the character trait, the individual is able to begin to move
away from being invested in continuing this behavior.
In this paper, I will examine how the interplay between adolescent struggles and character
traits are affected by cult involvement. I will present two case examples to illustrate some
of these developmental struggles. The parents of my first case example became involved in
a cult during my client‘s childhood, while the parents of my second case example became
involved when my client was a young adolescent. Others who are born or raised in cults
might have different basic personality characteristics and might be affected in different, or
additional, ways than those I have described in this paper. Therefore, although this paper
emphasizes certain character traits, it is inevitable that some traits will not be included.
Influences on Personality Development
The child‘s personality is shaped both by temperament1 and the nature of the child‘s
experience of the parents or important objects in the child‘s life.2 The growing child develops
certain personality characteristics that are reflected in character traits in this process. Moore
and Fine (1990) state:
Raised in Cultic Groups: The Impact on the Development of
Certain Aspects of Character
Lorna Goldberg, M.S.W.
Abstract
Although a number of articles and books have been written on the effects of
cultic involvement on adult personalities (e.g., Lifton, 1961 Lalich, 2004
Conway and Siegelman, 1978 Hassan, 1988 West and Martin, 1994 Singer,
1995), little has been written on the impact of being raised in cults on the
development of individuals‘ character or personality style. In this article, I
identify several common personality characteristics that I have seen in those
individuals raised in cults, and I consider how the cult environment influences
the formation of these particular characteristics.
Introduction
Moore and Fine (1990) define character as
the enduring, patterned functioning of an individual. As perceived by others, it
is the person‘s habitual way of thinking, feeling, and acting. Understood
psychodynamically, character is the person‘s habitual mode of reconciling
intrapsychic conflicts…. A person‘s character is made up of an integrated
constellation of character traits…. Character is most closely related to the
concept of an individual‘s defensive style. (pp.37–38)
Chessick (1993) adds,
One‘s personality or character must be understood as a ―readout‖ displaying
compromise formations made by the ego between the demands of the id, the
superego, and external reality. So character traits are a mixture of drive
derivatives, defenses, and superego components. They may be thought of as
developing over time out of the attempt to resolve intrapsychic conflict. There
is also a growing body of evidence that genetic and constitutional factors play
an important role in supplying potentials that may or may not be used by
each individual in the development of character traits. (p. 50)
In therapy I have found that it is important to uncover the unconscious fantasies that
underlie these characterological ways of relating to others. With the uncovering of the
fantasy that is at the core of the character trait, the individual is able to begin to move
away from being invested in continuing this behavior.
In this paper, I will examine how the interplay between adolescent struggles and character
traits are affected by cult involvement. I will present two case examples to illustrate some
of these developmental struggles. The parents of my first case example became involved in
a cult during my client‘s childhood, while the parents of my second case example became
involved when my client was a young adolescent. Others who are born or raised in cults
might have different basic personality characteristics and might be affected in different, or
additional, ways than those I have described in this paper. Therefore, although this paper
emphasizes certain character traits, it is inevitable that some traits will not be included.
Influences on Personality Development
The child‘s personality is shaped both by temperament1 and the nature of the child‘s
experience of the parents or important objects in the child‘s life.2 The growing child develops
certain personality characteristics that are reflected in character traits in this process. Moore
and Fine (1990) state:
