The Negative Impact of Group Psychological Abuse on Life Satisfaction and Well-being.

In the context of the adverse effects of psychological abuse, this study examined satisfaction with life, psychological well-being, and social well-being in survivors of social groups that are high-demand, manipulative, totalitarian, or abusive toward their members. We specifically tested the mediating role between group psychological abuse and current well-being of psychological stress suffered after leaving the group. An online questionnaire was administered to 636 Spanish-speaking former members of different groups, 377 victims of group psychological abuse and 259 nonvictims. Participants reporting group psychological abuse showed significantly lower levels of life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and social well-being compared to nonvictims. Greater differences in well-being between victims and nonvictims were related to positive relationships with others (d = .85), self-acceptance (d = .51), social integration (d = .44), and social acceptance (d = .41). Victims' life satisfaction and well-being were positively correlated with the time that has passed since leaving the group, but nonsignificant effects were found regarding the type of the group (i.e., religious vs. nonreligious), the age at which they joined the group (i.e., born into or raised in the group vs. during adulthood), the length of group membership, and the method of leaving (i.e., personal reflection, counseled, or expelled). Moderate associations were found between group psychological abuse, psychological stress, and well-being measures, and results demonstrated that psychological stress mediated the impact of group psychological abuse on life satisfaction and well-being. Understanding the negative impact of group psychological abuse on well-being is important to promote survivors' optimal functioning during their integration process into the out-group society.

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

Background: Previous studies indicate that social functioning and resilience can mitigate the adverse psychological effects of interpersonal violence. Unfortunately, the role of these variables has not been studied in survivors of groups, organizations, and communities in which psychological abusive strategies are inflicted to recruit and dominate their members. Objective: To examine the mediating role of social functioning and resilience in the relationship between psychological abuse experienced in the past while in a group and current psychosocial distress and psychopathological symptoms. Method: In this cross-sectional study, an online questionnaire was administered to 794 English-speaking former members of different kinds of groups, such as religious, pseudo therapeutic, pyramid scheme groups, and others. Among them, 499 were victims of group psychological abuse and 295 were non-victims. Results: Victims of group psychological abuse reported lower levels of social functioning and resilience than non-victims, and higher levels of psychosocial difficulties and psychopathological symptoms. Serial mediation analyses revealed that social functioning and resilience mediated part of the impact of group psychological abuse on psychosocial difficulties and psychopathological symptoms. Sex and age joining the group were included as covariates. Participants who had experienced higher levels of group psychological abuse tend to have poorer social functioning, which is related to lower resilience. In turn, lower levels of social functioning and resilience are related with higher distress. Conclusions: This research sheds light on the underlying mechanisms involved in the relationship between group psychological abuse and distress suffered following this kind of traumatic experiences. Findings highlight the protective role of social adjustment, which can help promote and enhance resilience and mitigate psychosocial difficulties and psychopathological symptoms in survivors of group psychological abuse.

Antecedentes: Estudios previos indican que la adaptación social y la resiliencia pueden mitigar los efectos psicológicos adversos de situaciones de violencia interpersonal. Desafortunadamente, no se ha estudiado aún el rol de estas variables en supervivientes de grupos, organizaciones y comunidades en las cuales se aplican estrategias de abuso psicológico para reclutar y dominar a sus miembros.Objetivo: Examinar el rol mediador de la adaptación social y la resiliencia en la relación entre el abuso psicológico experimentado en un grupo en el pasado y el malestar psicosocial y síntomas psicopatológicos sufridos en la actualidad.Método: Se diseñó un estudio transversal y se administró un cuestionario online a 794 personas de habla inglesa exmiembros de grupos de distinta naturaleza, como religiosos, pseudo terapéuticos, de estructura piramidal, u otros. De ellas, 499 fueron víctimas de abuso psicológico en grupo y 295 personas no fueron víctimas.Resultados: Las víctimas de abuso psicológico en grupos reportaron menores niveles de adaptación social y resiliencia que las personas que no fueron víctimas, y mayores niveles de dificultades psicosociales y síntomas psicopatológicos. Los análisis de mediación en serie revelaron que la adaptación social y la resiliencia mediaron parte del impacto del abuso psicológico en las dificultades psicosociales y los síntomas psicopatológicos. El sexo y la edad de entrada al grupo fueron introducidos como covariantes. Los participantes que han experimentado mayores niveles de abuso psicológico en grupos tienden a tener menor funcionamiento social, lo que está relacionado con menor resiliencia. En consecuencia, menores niveles de funcionamiento social y resiliencia se relacionan con mayor malestar.Conclusiones: Este estudio ayuda a comprender los mecanismos subyacentes implicados en la relación del abuso psicológico en grupos y el malestar sufrido después de este tipo de experiencias traumáticas. Los hallazgos resaltan la importancia del rol protector de la adaptación social, el cual puede ayudar a promover y mejorar la resiliencia y a mitigar las dificultades psicosociales y síntomas psicopatológicos en supervivientes de abuso psicológico en grupos.

Development and Validation of a Measure of Emotional Distress in Survivors of Group Psychological Abuse.

In the context of the negative consequences of psychological abuse, a scale was developed to specifically assess the emotional disturbances in individuals who had experienced abusive behaviors over a period of time within a cultic group. The Emotional Distress Scale in Survivors of Abusive Groups (EDS-SAG) was administered, along with other relevant measures of group psychological abuse and psychopathological symptoms, to 706 Spanish-speaking former members of different groups, distributed into two samples according to whether they had experienced group psychological abuse (n = 413) or not (n = 293). Analyses supported a unidimensional structure of the 18 items on the EDS-SAG, explaining 50.7% of the total variance. This factorial solution was found to be stable when the sample of victims was split by sex and by the age of involvement in the group. Results also showed adequate reliability of the scores and significant associations between the scores on the EDS-SAG and the scores on measures of group psychological abuse (PAEGS: .86, p < .001) and psychopathological symptoms (BSI: .30, p < .001; PTCI: .46, p < .001). The results obtained reveal that this new scale is a suitable tool for measuring emotional distress in Spanish-speaking survivors of abusive groups. In the research field, it would be possible to evaluate the antecedents of emotional distress or their protective factors. In applied contexts, it would be possible to rigorously evaluate the emotional difficulties of abuse victims, allowing a better diagnosis and therapeutic approach. All of this will contribute to the assessment and understanding of the long-term consequences of group psychological abuse.

Development and validation of a measure of emotional distress in survivors of group psychological abuse

In the context of the negative consequences of psychological abuse, a scale was developed to specifically assess the emotional disturbances in individuals who had experienced abusive behaviors over a period of time within a cultic group. The Emotional Distress Scale in Survivors of Abusive Groups (EDS-SAG) was administered, along with other relevant measures of group psychological abuse and psychopathological symptoms, to 706 Spanish-speaking former members of different groups, distributed into two samples according to whether they had experienced group psychological abuse (n = 413) or not (n = 293). Analyses supported a unidimensional structure of the 18 items on the EDS-SAG, explaining 50.7% of the total variance. This factorial solution was found to be stable when the sample of victims was split by sex and by the age of involvement in the group. Results also showed adequate reliability of the scores and significant associations between the scores on the EDS-SAG and the scores on measures of group psychological abuse (PAEGS: .86, p < .001) and psychopathological symptoms (BSI: .30, p < .001; PTCI: .46, p < .001). The results obtained reveal that this new scale is a suitable tool for measuring emotional distress in Spanish-speaking survivors of abusive groups. In the research field, it would be possible to evaluate the antecedents of emotional distress or their protective factors. In applied contexts, it would be possible to rigorously evaluate the emotional difficulties of abuse victims, allowing a better diagnosis and therapeutic approach. All of this will contribute to the assessment and understanding of the long-term consequences of group psychological abuse

No disponible