The devil's lure : adolescents' experience in satanic cults

Abstract

This study intends to find out why an adolescent would resort to Satanism, and why would s/he eventually leave. It is important to understand the implications behind the decision to joint in a satanic cult as this subject, though very much of a reality among us, is more than often ignored. The reality is that Satanism is very much alive especially amongst adolescents who are psychologically predisposed to become lured after the power Satanism promises and the sense of belonging it offers. Generally, it was seen that the adolescent either comes from a disengaged family, or from one which is too rigid, making him or her yearn to rebel against the void and loneliness s/he is experiencing. Ironically, it appears that the adolescent eventually leaves the cult for the same reasons s/he recruited to it - emptiness and disillusion. A semi-structured interview and a NEO-PI-R personality inventory were conducted to each of the participants in order to understand better the psychology behind the experience. A salient finding is that individuals who do not receive treatment after disengaging from cult involvement remain very much disturbed.