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The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which spiritual orientation was associated with adaptation to therapeutic community treatment. Spiritual orientation was assessed by the Spirituality Self-Rating Scale, a measure consistent with the conceptualization of spirituality typically reflected in Alcoholics Anonymous members' views. Spiritual orientation was positively correlated with acceptance of therapeutic community principles and clinical progress. Further assessment of spirituality related characteristics and their relation to treatment outcomes is important in informing the design of interventions aimed at improving progress in the therapeutic community, particularly those aspects involving the relative value of integrating the 12-Step group approach in therapeutic community programs.

This study sought to determine which adolescents being treated for substance use in a residential Therapeutic Community (TC) would endorse spirituality and Twelve Step oriented approaches as part of their treatment. By identifying individual difference characteristics associated with preference for spirituality and Twelve Step oriented approaches, integrated substance abuse treatments can be targeted to appropriate subgroups of adolescents. A total of 181 adolescents completed a survey assessing their substance use and attitudes toward spirituality and Twelve Step oriented approaches that was similar to a survey completed by 322 adults in the same residential TC program. In the adolescent sample, three spirituality related characteristics: perceived connectedness to others, frequency of prayer, and spiritual orientation to life were associated with preference for both spirituality and twelve step oriented approaches being featured more in TC treatment. Adolescents were less likely than adults to express a preference that both approaches be featured more in TC treatment.

Spirituality is a neglected area of study and research in the treatment of addictions. The role of spirituality in the treatment of the dually diagnosed has received particularly scant attention. One hundred and one patients on an in-patient dual-diagnosis unit, as well as the 31 members of the nursing staff who treat them were surveyed. Patients and staff were questioned about their spiritual beliefs and what was the role of spirituality in the patients' recovery from addiction. Staff were questioned about their own spirituality and what they think the patients' level of spirituality is. In addition the staff were asked what they think the patients' view of spiritually is. Results indicate that the patients and staff are equally spiritually oriented. The patients view spirituality as essential to their recovery and value spiritual programming in their treatment more than some concrete items. The nursing staff underestimated both the patients' level of spirituality and this importance placed on spiritual issues. The authors suggest that more attention should be given by staff to spirituality in the treatment of this population.

The author studied the psychological aspects of religious conversion during structured 21-day workshop sequences designed to introduce people to the Unification Church. Subjects were given a battery of tests at different times during the sequence. After the initial 2-day workshop, 71% dropped out; the 29% who chose to continue had greater affiliative feelings toward the group and greater acceptance of the church's creed than these early dropouts. The 9% who ultimately joined the church had weaker outside personal ties than the later dropouts, although their beliefs in and cohesiveness toward the church were the same as the late dropouts. These results are also compared with long-standing members of the church and matched nonmembers. The induction procedures used by the church are discussed with regard to those used by large therapeutic groups, such as self-help organizations.

This paper reports on studies designed to clarify the role of large cohesive groups in effecting diminished drug use among their members. Subjects were drawn from two contemporary religious sects and data were obtained by administering self-report questionnaires under controlled conditions, in cooperation with the sects' leadership. Data which bear directly on changes in drug use are reported here. Members of the Divine Light Mission (DLM), many of whom had been involved in the "counterculture" of the early 1970s, reported incidence of drug use prior to joining which was much above that of a nonmember comparison group. Reported levels were considerably lower after joining, and the decline was maintained over an average membership of 2 years. Unification Church (UC) members showed a similar pattern but their drug use began at a somewhat lower level and declined further still; this reflects a stricter stance toward illicit intoxicants in the UC, and relatively less openness to transcendental altered consciousness, which is an integral part of DLM meditation. Data from persons registered for UC recruitment workshops corroborated retrospective reports of the long-standing members. Changes in the consumption of tranquilizers were also considered. Data on caffeine consumption reflected less strict commitment to controls over this agent. The decline in drug use was considered in relation to feelings of social cohesiveness toward fellow group members, which was a significant predictor of change in drug use in multiple regression analysis. The findings are examined in relation to the interplay between behavioral norms in a close-knit subculture and the role of its beliefs and values in determining levels of drug use.

The authors undertook this study to enhance psychiatric understanding of contemporary charismatic religious sects. After a pilot study, a representative sample of members of the Unification Church (N = 237) completed a 216-item structured questionnaire. Respondents were below the mean for an age- and sex-matched group on a psychological general well-being scale, and they reported significantly greater neurotic distress before conversion. The authors discuss correlates of an improved emotional state following conversion and employ attribution theory, drawn from social psychology, to put the conversion process into a psychiatric perspective.

This project was designed to study the psychological nature of compliance with unusual behavioral norms among members of a charismatic religious sect. Three hundred twenty-one members of the Unification Church had been placed into marital engagement a year previously in a highly unusual fashion: their partners were assigned to them by the group's leader as part of a religious ritual. The abrogation of contemporary norms for mate selection was not associated with increased psychological distress. Church-related life experiences, however, were perceived as being of considerable psychological impact. Multiple regression analyses further revealed that the vulnerability of respondents to perceived life disruption was relived by their affiliation to the sect. This "relief effect," associated with social and religious ties to the sect, apparently reinforces compliance with the group's behavorial norms, particularly since the manner of reinforcement is integrated into the social structure of the group.

Of 66 persons who left the Unification Church (the "Moonies"), twenty-three (36%) reported that they had had serious emotional problems after leaving. After an average of 3.8 years, however, the former members studied here had apparently achieved a stable adjustment. Most of them retained a notable fidelity toward the sect and its beliefs, but those who had been "deprogrammed" had more negative views and themselves had coerced other members to leave. The author examines the impact of group membership on individual development and looks at departure in relation to the psychopathology, such as depression and paranoid ideation, that may emerge.

A 3-year follow-up of longtime engaged members of the Unification Church revealed remarkable compliance with the sect's unusual marital commitments. Of 305 subjects, 95% were still active in the church and 85% had been married in the interim to mates designated by their religious leader. Their scores on a measure of psychological well-being remained below those of the general population, and members who deviated from the sect's expectations showed even greater distress. Furthermore, analysis revealed that affiliative ties with the sect apparently counteracted the distress produced by the unusual marital experience and help to explain compliance with the sect's unusual behavioral norms.

Phenomena associated with contemporary charismatic religious sects raise questions about the combined impact of group influence and intensely held beliefs on group members' psychological functioning. The author considers the stages of membership in these sects, with emphasis on psychiatric aspects of conversion, long-term membership, and leaving. He discusses options for psychiatric intervention, including psychotherapy, conservatorships, and deprogramming. Systems theory is used to provide a psychological model for the relationship between group influence in these sects and current conceptions of individual psychopathology and normal adaptation.