The Group Psychological Abuse Scale

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The Group Psychological Abuse Scale

This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1994, Volume 11,

Number 1, pages !11"# $lease %eep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of thebound volume# This fact could affect ho& you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may &rite#

The Group Psychological Abuse Scale: A Measure of the

Varieties of Cultic Abuse

William V. Chambers, Ph.D.

!i"ersity College, Mercer !i"ersity

Michael D. #a!go!e, Ph.D.

America! $amily $ou!%atio!

Arthur A. Dole, Ph.D.

!i"ersity of Pe!!syl"a!ia

&ames W. Grice, M.A.

!i"ersity of 'e( Me)ico

Abstract

The Group Psychological Abuse (GPA) scale was developed from a factor analysis of 308former cult members characteri!ations of their groups" #our subscales were derived$%ompliance& 'ploitation& ind %ontrol& and Anious *ependency" +eliability and validityfindings suggest the GPA should be useful in characteri!ing the varieties of abuse and indifferentiating cults from innocuous groups"

The ma,or apprehension surrounding cults is not that they represent new religious creeds&dissenting political views& or alternative therapeutic methods" The driving concern is that thesegroups tend to abuse their members& and sometimes nonmembers& unli-e bona fide new religious(and other) movements& which treat members and outsiders with relative respect"

.ow much do we really -now about abuse in cults/ #rom eperiential& clinical& and philosophical perspectives& we -now uite a lot" #rom the viewpoint of scientific theory& basedon uantitative measurements& we -now less" A few steps toward uantitative measurement ofabuse have been ta-en& however" *ole and *ubrow'ichel (128) used a *elphi strategy to studyeperts perceptions of cults" They collected descriptions of numerous dangerous practices found



among cults" +atings of the practices by eperts showed that abuses by cults could beuantitatively differentiated" The *ole and *ubrow'ichel study thus provided precedence forfurther uantitative studies of abuse in cults"

4ome years after the *ole and *ubrow'ichel (128) study& 5angone and %hambers (1221)conducted a factor analysis of former cult members interpretations of terms used in culticstudies" #ive dimensions of meaningfulness and terminological acceptability were found$ ind%ontrol& 4ocial anipulation& Group 6ntensity& Trauma& and Abuse" The former cult membersrated the Abuse and Trauma dimensions as most meaningful and acceptable to people leavingcults" The views of the former cult members thus concurred with those of *ole and*ubrow'ichel in emphasi!ing the significance of abuse and trauma in cultic groups"

Ta-ing the lead offered by *ole and *ubrow'ichel (128)& as well as by the sub,ects in thefactor analysis study& 5angone (1227) developed a theoretical model of abuse& with the idea ofrespect for the person as the central concern and contrast to abuse" The respectversusabuse

model emphasi!es four aspects of personhood$ ind& Autonomy& 6dentity& and *ignity (A6*)"These aspects may be construed as needs in a psychological sense or as rights in a philosophicalsense"

*isrespect for ind concerns the violation of the persons right to pursue truth and goodnessthrough reality testing& logical thin-ing& and ob,ective inuiry" These violations of respect areoften described in the literature as mind control& coercive persuasion& or thought reform(5angone& 12239 5ifton& 12:19 4chein& 4chneier& ; <a-er& 12:1)"

The second aspect of respect for the person=Autonomy summari!es the persons right to ma-edecisions independent of the interests and dictates of others" These issues of conformity and

compliance are found throughout the literature and reflect the authoritarian features of mostcultic groups"

The 6dentity aspect of personhood concerns the inner integration of the person and integrity as amember of a family& community& and culture" >iolation of the rights of people to definethemselves is freuently described in the literature (see especially ?ea-ley& 1288)& with the persons identity generally being preempted to serve the groups goals and daily needs"

*ignity& the final aspect of personhood& concerns the persons right to feel worthwhile in the eyesof others& to feel /eual/ in the sense enunciated in the *eclaration of 6ndependence (/all menare created eual//that is& with eual inherent worth)" The destruction of the persons sense of

inherent worth is common to most forms of psychological abuse"

The four aspects of respect& then& appeal to the legitimacy of the person as an end& rather than asa means to be eploited" 5angones theoretical formulation of psychological abuse derives fromhis wor- with former members of cultic groups& which& being eploitatively manipulative& placethe abuserespect distinction in bold relief" @ther clinical and empirical investigations clearly place abuse at the heart of the controversy surrounding the cult phenomenon"



Given this bac-ground and our assumption that abuse is the essence of a cult& it is reasonable to proceed to a scientific study of the nature of the abuse in cultic groups" e need a uantitativemeasure of abuse that can be applied to any group by anyone with eperience of the group"*evelopment of such a scale is the purpose of this study"

ethod

6ntroductory %omments

*evelopment of a measure of psychological abuse could begin in either of two ways"*escriptive items could be selected that discriminate between groups commonly consideredabusive (e"g"& cults) and groups commonly considered nonabusive" *iscriminant functionanalysis is the statistical method of choice for this -ind of item analysis (Ghiselli& %ampbell& ;Bedec-& 1281)" This method is freuently used& for eample& in research on psychiatricdiagnosis" The approach assumes& however& that accepted validity criteria eistfor eample& the

diagnostic decisions of epert clinicians" Cnfortunately& there are no euivalent authoritativediagnostic criteria for cults" Therefore& a measure of the psychological abuse associated withcults must first focus on describing what is meant by cultic abuse"

%linical studies& philosophical analyses& and surveys of personal and epert eperience can helpeplicate definitional issues and assumptions& as well as provide potential items for scales"Accumulated observations must be systematically organi!ed& however& before sophisticatedscientific theories can be developed or derivative hypotheses tested empirically" #actor analysisis the appropriate method for this approach"

As Derlinger (12E3) states$ /#actor analysis is a method for determining the number and nature

of the underlying variables among larger numbers of measures"""" #actor analysis serves thecause of scientific parsimony"""" 6t tells us& in effect& what tests or measures belong togetherwhich ones virtually measure the same thing/ (p" :2)" Gorsuch (1283) adds that the aim offactor analysis is to /summari!e the interrelationships among the variables in a concise butaccurate manner as an aid in conceptuali!ation/ (p" 7)"

Thus& factor analysis can enable us to distill the varieties of abuse by separating numericalthemes" *elineation of the combinations and permutations of these varieties may& in turn& help usto empirically elaborate the dimensions& meaning& and nature of cultic abuse"

+egarding the choice of factor analysis over discriminant analysis& we should find that if the

concept abuse is meaningful& then scales derived from factor analysis should discriminate between noncultic groups and the varieties of cultic groups" *iscriminant function analysiscould& indeed& later be applied to the factor analytically derived scales to predict groupmembership" The result should be both statistically efficient and theoretically meaningfuldiscrimination of groups"

6nstrument



A pool of items was created through several strategies" #irst& the 70 highestrated items in the*ole and *ubrow'ichel (128) study of cult dangerousness were included" Fet& 5angones(1227) model of respect=abuse as well as other theoretical formulations (5ifton& 12219 @fshe ;4inger& 128:9 4inger& Temerlin& ; 5angone& 1220) were used to select additional items" 5astly&

the authors clinical eperience and conversations with other eperienced clinicians yielded other items" A pilot study that analy!ed the responses and comments of 17 former cult membersresulted in further modification of the item pool" The items that were ultimately chosen fell intothree domains of interest$ (1) the purpose of the group& (7) the relationships within the group&and (3) the relationships with others outside the group" 6n all& 117 items were selected andincluded in a much larger survey sent to former cult members"

4ub,ects were instructed$ Please rate the degree to which the following statements """characteri!e the group """ according to your eperience and observations """ of how itH """A%TCA55? functioned """ 1Inot at all characteristic9 7Inot characteristic9 3I cant say=not sure9JIcharacteristic9 Ivery characteristic"/

Procedures and 4ub,ects

A 70page uestionnaire boo-let with eplanations and consent forms was sent to 3E membersof #@%C4 (a national networ- of former cult members) and approimately 700 ecult memberson the American #amily #oundations mailing list" (The precise number in the group is not-nown because duplications to the #@%C4 list were unfortunately not removed before mailing")

6n addition& varying numbers of uestionnaires were sent to 13 cult educators andorgani!ations& who were as-ed to distribute the uestionnaire" Altogether 800 uestionnaireswere mailed" %ompleted uestionnaires were returned by 308 persons& a response rate of about

3K" (The precise response rate cannot be determined because it is not -nown eactly how manyuestionnaires given to eperts and organi!ations were actually passed on to emembers") ostof the respondents had contacted the American #amily #oundation (A##) or the %ult Awareness Fetwor- (%AF) see-ing information concerning cults" Approimately 3EK of the sub,ects&however& had no or little contact with A## or %AF and were presumably given uestionnaires by others"

This sample could be described as a combination of a networ- and a snowball sample" 6t is notnecessarily representative of the ecult population at large& but probably is reasonablyrepresentative of that subgroup of emembers who come into contact with cult educationorgani!ations"

As uestionnaires came in& they were given an identification number and separated from theconsent forms (which were placed in a safe deposit bo) in order to ensure anonymity" Althoughno sub,ects were formally interviewed& approimately one do!en initiated contact with theinvestigators either by phone or mail" The most common and stri-ing aspect of these contactswas sub,ects saying that the uestionnaire helped them better understand their eperiences" ostas-ed for additional uestionnaires to give to friends who had also left cults"



The sub,ects had involvements with a total of 101 groups& including 'astern& <iblebased& political& and other types" The average length of membership was :"E2 years" #ortythree percentreported obtaining leadership status in their group" 4ity percent left the group on their ownthatis& without formal outside assistance from eit counselors or mental health professionals and not

as a result of legal conservatorship" +atings on fivepoint scales& with 7 being important and 1 being very important& revealed the following reasons for leaving their group$ time spent awayfrom group& mI1"289 disillusioning eperience with leader& mI1":9 becoming aware of beingmanipulated& mI1"29 and feeling abused and=or eploited& mI1"E3"

#ortyseven percent of the sub,ects were raised Protestant& 7JK %atholic& 8K Lewish& and 8Kother& with 13K reporting no childhood religious affiliations" Postcult religious affiliationsincluded 30K Protestant& 8K %atholic& K Lewish& J:K none& and 17K other"

4ityfour percent of the sub,ects were female& 3:K male" 4ub,ects reported an average of five persons in their family of origin" 4ityseven percent reported that their parents were living

together at the time that the sub,ects ,oined the group" hen as-ed how well their families gotalong before the sub,ects cult involvement& ::K reported /average/ or /above average"/ 4iteen percent reported that their family of origins income& before taes& was less than M70&0009 E7Kreported incomes between M70&000 and M100&0009 17K indicated incomes greater than M100&000"

'ighteen percent were married when they ,oined their group& with an average of two children per couple" #ortythree percent of those who had been married reported that they did not get alongwell in their marriage& with J0K reporting that they were separated or divorced at least in part because of their group involvement"

4ub,ects reported that they had completed an average of 1J"8J years of school at the time of

completing the survey" The average at the time of ,oining their group was 13":J years"@ccupations at the time of group membership included EK clerical& JK craft& 1K labor& 1Kmachine or transport operator& 3K managerial or administrative& 1:K professional or technical&JK sales& 11K service& :K none& 30K student& 1:K other" Postcult occupations were similarlydistributed& ecept that fewer were now students (17K)& and more were now professionals(3JK)"

6n summary& the sample consisted of individuals who became disenchanted after having madesubstantial commitments to a wide array of cultic groups" 6n general& the sub,ects were raised inthe middle class9 they grew up in intact& supportive families& with moderate incomes& and withchildhood involvement in various mainstream religious denominations"

The sub,ects represent those people who are most li-ely to appreciate the nature and etent ofabuse in cultsthat is& the victims" <y factor analy!ing their ratings we stand to develop scalesthat differentiate various -inds of cultic abuse as well as an inde of the etent of cultic abuse"e assume this strategy will produce a much narrower range of variance than would be the caseif we had included noncult members and current members" <ut this does not mean that weshould not later include such groups"



.aving built greater sensitivity into the scales by focusing on variances within former cultmembers& subseuent applications to samples including other groups should produce evenstronger results" +eliability and validity statistics are probably attenuated by the constrictedsample and should increase in discriminative power with a broader sample" The choice of

selfdescribed victims as the base sample is& therefore& not only theoretically appropriate but alsostatistically conservative"

+esults

Principal components analysis with varima rotation revealed four interpretable factors& eachwith eigenvalues greater than 3" The analysis was restricted to components with eigenvaluesgreater than 3 (as opposed to the Daiser criterion of 1) because the smaller componentscontained few items loading substantially ("30 or larger) and because the items failed to beconceptually interpretable" 'igenvalues for the first four components were 70"71& "33& 3"E7& and3":J respectively& accounting for 72"JK of the total variance" #our is probably an underestimate

of the number of dimensions of abuse" @ur conservative selection& however& provides moreconfidence in the validity of the dimensions that we do interpret"

The strategy for scale development was to choose items that loaded substantially on the factors&assuming that the scales made up of such items would reflect the factors from which they werechosen" The scale scores were the sum of the ratings originally given on the item by the sub,ect"

4eventyfive of the 117 items loaded substantially on one or more of the four retained factors"The large number of substantial loadings facilitated identification of the factors" The fact thatmost items loaded on more than one factor& however& considerably narrowed the pool of itemsfor inclusion in the scales" e sought to use items that loaded substantially on only one of the

four factors in order to increase the unidimensionality& and thus interpretability& of the scales" Aneual number of items per factor=subscale were chosen in order to facilitate scale comparisons"

e settled on E items per subscale& with a total of 78 (or JE) items in the summary GroupPsychological Abuse (GPA) scale (see Appendi A)" Thus& each subscale could produce scoresfrom E to 3& while the GPA inde& as the summary inde of psychological abuse& could rangefrom 78 to 1J0"

Analysis of the loadings of the items on the factors suggested the following labels$ %ompliance&'ploitation& ind %ontrol& and Anious *ependency (the rationale for these labels will be provided later)" Table 1 includes the abbreviated items for each subscale" 6ncluded is the loading

of each item on its factor& the correlation of the items with the subscale total scores& thecorrelation of the items with the summary GPA scale& and the communalities (proportion ofvariance eplained) for items across the four factors" (An identical factor analysis based on these78 items revealed the same factor structure" The four factors accounted for J7K of the variance")

Alpha coefficients are included for each subscale" Alpha for the GPA summary scale was "81"Alphas for the subscales were "81 for %ompliance9 "E for 'ploitation9 "E0 for ind %ontrol9



and "E7 for Anious *ependency" These reliabilities are sufficient for research purposes"

Table 1" 6tem *escriptions and 4tatistics by 4cale

GPA I 4c1N4c7N4c3N4cJ GPA alpha I "81

4c1$ %ompliance alpha I "81

%orrelations

O 5oad 4c1 4c7 4c3 4cJ GPA h7 *escription

01 "J ":2 "01 "70 "31 "J: "3: se lives not dictated

0J ":0 ":2 "7 "78 "7J ": "J7 sacrifice own goals

13 ":0 "E "1J "1: "1E "JE "J0 group lives together

1J ":E "E3 "0: "31 "77 "J2 "J8 intimacy dictated

18 "JE "2 "70 "73 "31 "1 "30 serve leaders

71 "2 ": "0 "7 "71 "J3 "J0 members ma-e decisions

78 ":1 "E1 "0: "72 "71 "JE "J7 members must consult

4c7$ 'ploitation alpha I "E

%orrelations


07 "JE "17 "7 "13 "71 "J0 "7: women seduce for

group

03 ":1 "1E ": "70 "77 "0 "J7 brea-ing law o-ay

0: "1 "0E ": "07 "0: "3J "7E politics ma,or goal

17 ":8 "17 "EE "13 "70 "1 "0 violence to outsiders



12 ":E "0: ":2 "0J "10 "32 "J: money ma,or goal

70 "JE "08 "8 "7 "17 "J0 "7E critics threatened

7E "J3 "0: "7 "17 "1E "71 "3J recruiting ma,or goal

Table 1" (continued)

4c3$ ind %ontrol alpha I "E0

%orrelations


02 "J3 "77 "08 "J0 "78 "3J "7: members part ofelite

11 " "18 "7E ":: "12 "JJ "38 coercive persuasion

1 ": "7J "71 ":8 "37 "0 "J7 stay becausedeceived

77 "0 "70 "1 "2 "70 "38 "30 can thin- critically

7J "8 "12 "1: ":E "71 "J1 "32 mind control used

7 "J3 "30 "0: ":1 "0E "33 "30 little psychologl pressure

7: "J "18 "07 ":3 "0 "7J "7E criticism rare

4cJ$ Anious *ependency alpha I "E7

%orrelations


0 "32 "1 "11 "71 ":7 "J7 "73 medical help o-ay

0E ":2 "37 "02 "1E ":2 "0 " leaving is damnation

08 "J7 "7 "0 "0E "3 "3: "77 no negative emotions



10 ":J "78 "1J "13 ": "0 "J: criticism is evil

1: "3E "17 "02 "70 ": "3E "1E eercises removedoubt

1E "0 "1 "02 "13 ": "J0 "30 no medical help

73 "J "77 "18 "1 ":0 "J "78 leader is divine

Fote$ with nI300& the p"01 critical value for r is (N&) "1J" %olumn 1& the item number (O)& refersto the scale in the appendi" %olumn 7 is the loading of each item with its factor (#1& etc"themathematical abstraction)" %olumns 3: are the correlations of the item with the four scales (theE concrete items constituting the scale)" %olumn E& h& is the communality& that is& the proportionof variance the four factors account for with respect to an individual item" %olumn 8 is theabbreviated description of the item"

*iscussion

Psychometric +ationale and 6mplications

<ecause the %ultic 4tudies Lournal is multidisciplinary rather than a strictly psychological ,ournal& and because this article reports on a study that is technically comple& we have chosen inthis section to elaborate on the psychometric rationale for the development of the four subscalesand the composite GPA inde" e hope that readers unfamiliar with the technical aspects of the

study might thereby better understand the methods& results& and implicationsincludingtheoretical implications to be discussed further in another paper"

As noted earlier& factor analysis distills the various numerical patterns characteri!ing items thatare analy!ed" Cncorrelated variances between items cancel one another as each factor is derived&leaving principal themes or factors" These factors are mathematical abstractions" Faming eachfactor reuires a parallel cognitive& or psychological& abstraction (to be discussed further inanother section)" 6n loo-ing for the common theme among the items that load highest on a factor&the analyst tries to distill the essence of that factor" 4ince loadings are correlations between theitems and the abstract factor& they point to meanings that the items share with the factor" Thehigher the loading& the more the item contributes to the meaning of the factor"

Typically& factor analysis produces& as with the GPA& several factors composed of a number ofitems" hen each item loads on only one factor& the data is said to manifest simple structure(Thurstone& 12JE)" This is the ideal of factor analysis" hen a particular item loads highly onmore than one factor& the item is considered to be comple& rather than simple" 4uch items areconstructions (rather than abstractions) because they unite the orthogonal (independent) featuresof the factors on which they load" These comple items are rich in meaning and can aid in factorinterpretation" @ften they reflect syndromatic combinations of factors that characteri!e the



dynamics of natures concrete and psychological events" The psychometric unreliabilities ofindividual comple items& however& ma-e them less useful than combinations of orthogonalsubscales in illuminating syndromes because subscales& being composed of numerous items& aremore reliable than individual items"

Table 7 (below) includes comple items ecluded from the scales because of pronounced lac- of simple structure" Also included are abbreviations of these items& ma,or factor loadings& scalecorrelations& and communalities" Table 7 reflects the relevance of the subscales& for as abstract asthey may be& they in combination give meaning to the relatively unreliable& comple items thatlac- simple structure" 6n other words& they illuminate the construct validity of psychologicalabuse by revealing permutations of abuse"

#or eample& item O77J& devotes all free time to group&/ loads substantially on factor 1(%ompliance) and on factor 7 ('ploitation)" This item suggests the outcome of compliance toan eploitative leader" 6tems O731& confess sins and limitations& loads on the %ompliance and

ind %ontrol factors& suggesting both a demand for confession and abasement (%ompliance)and the use of confession and abasement in mind control strategies" 6tem O731 may also beinterpreted to reflect a syndrome& such as the cult of confession& as described by 5ifton (12:1)"These -inds of interpretations are rather speculative& however& because the meaning of theconstructional items is obscured by brevity of epression and measurement errors" A more usefulapproach& which we have followed in this article& is to begin with simple abstractions (i"e"& itemsloading on only one factor) and build up from these to comple constructions (i"e"& combinationsof factors or items loading on more than one factor)"

Table 7$ +elevant 6tems 'cluded from 4cales

#1$ %ompliance

%orrelations


71 "3 "J8 "1: "72 "3 "J8 "73 serving leaderO1 goal

712 "3E "38 "1: "33 "1J "3: "78 disagreementrespected

77J ":3 "8 "31 "7E "71 "3 "J2 all free time togroup

731 "3 "3E "7: "32 "11 "J1 "38 confess sins



73 "J8 "0 "3: "7 "3: "E "J: will die forleader

7JE "J8 "J3 "J1 "30 "1 "J2 "J8 wor- to

ehaustion

7J2 "J2 "J3 "11 "J0 "7: "JJ "3E fail to meetstandards

7:7 "7 "J1 "08 "78 "72 "32 "J0 feel much guilt

7:3 "J7 "37 "01 "33 "7: "33 "33 feel inadeuate

7:8 "J "J7 "17 "72 "3E "J "3: fear leaving

7E "J8 "J7 "1: "J7 "77 "J3 "31 leaders areobeyed

302 "J0 "3J "7 "31 "33 "J: "3J dissent nottolerated

310 "J "J7 "31 "77 "JJ "J "0 allegiance todeath


#7$ 'ploitation

%orrelations


777 "7 "J "0 "1: "37 "E "7 assets given togroup

73J "J7 "33 "JJ "7 "12 "JE "3J physical punishment

73E "J0 "78 "3: "77 "18 "J0 "73 live as well as leader

7E2 ":1 "1 "3 "77 "70 "J3 "J: lying o-ay forgoals



721 "J3 "31 "JJ "12 "1: "J3 "78 fronts not used

727 "32 "03 "31 "0: "17 "11 "30 structuredindoctrination

72 ": "70 "J2 "38 "18 "JE "J2 lies to loo- good

30 "32 "07 "3J "00 "1: "71 "70 secret agencysupports

313 "JJ "18 "32 "J7 "72 "JE "J1 lac- time to sleep

31J "37 "7: "3: "30 "7: "J "78 no contemplation

#3$ ind %ontrol

%orrelations


77 "JE "7: "02 "J7 "11 "30 "30 uestions encouraged

7J3 "32 "31 "17 "32 "18 "3 "31 do not disagree

73 "30 "18 "1: "3J "13 "72 "18 dissentershumiliated

7J "38 "33 "3J "J0 "70 "JE "3E alters personality

7:1 "J0 "33 "73 "J1 "12 "J1 "30 time for recreation

7E0 "J3 "7E "70 "0 "31 "J "37 stay because ofabuse

78J "J1 "7J "10 "3J "30 "3 "J7 enlightenment outside

78E "3E "30 "7J "30 "1E "3E "78 dissenters respected

720 "J2 "7J "32 "J0 "1: "J3 "J1 info denied prospects

301 "J0 "J "1 "0 "37 "1 "J1 childli-edependency

317 "JE "18 "32 "J7 "72 "JE "0 proselyti!e by



deceit

#J$ Anious *ependency

%orrelations


737 "J1 "J1 "02 "71 "3E "J1 "J0 severe discipline-ids

733 "JJ "J: "18 "3J "JE " "J terrible if leave

7E ": "38 "1: "31 " "3 "JE punishment fordissent

7EJ "3E "30 "10 "30 "3: "32 "30 fear selfepression

7E8 "3E "38 "02 "73 "3E "J0 "72 nothing withoutgroup

780 "3E "3J "0 "33 "33 "38 "7E friends and familyo-ay


#J$ Anious *ependency

%orrelations


72E "37 "3: "11 "71 "3 "32 "77 nongroupfrightening

30J "J1 "78 "7J "37 "JJ "J8 "38 loyalty above allelse

30: "3 "1E "3: "31 "3J "J "78 totalitarian view

311 "J "3: "J3 "37 "0 ":7 "1 deceit o-ay forreligion



31 "JE "31 "31 "3E "1 ": "J1 only leaders true

31E "J: "JJ "71 "12 "J: "1 "JJ avoid family andfriends

4ummary GPA 6nde" As the sum of orthogonal subscales& the summary GPA inde& or scale& isa construction of the overall etent of abuse" The summary scale combines reliable variances& asreflected in the internal consistency (alpha) coefficients of the subscales" The subscales arerefined abstractions& approimating simple structure" %on,ugating (i"e"& elaborating all thecombinations of) these subscales will suggest various profiles that reflect the theoretical varietiesof psychological abuse" @ne possibility& for eample& is high %ompliance& Anious *ependency&and ind %ontrol& with low 'ploitation" Another is high %ompliance with low scores on theother subscales" 4till another is high ind %ontrol with low scores on the other subscales"

Although these profiles& or varieties of abuse& are theoretically possible& some may not occur innature (e"g"& the last profile eample)" 6f given to enough people from a wide enough spectrum of groups& the GPA 4cale can help determine which profiles nature indeed produces"

ith regard to statistical efficiency& constructing a GPA summary scale from the refinedsubscales has the same rationale as the derivation of orthogonal predictor variables in multipleregression& in that the use of orthogonal subscales (or orthogonal predictor variables) helps avoidredundancies and conseuent noncollinearity problems" The etent of abuse reflected in the GPA4ummary 6nde will be unchanged by the con,ugation of varieties& much as orthogonal variablescan be entered into a regression euation in any order without affecting the summary inde" As aresult& the GPA inde should be a statistically optimal measure of the etent of perceived abuse"

6n practice& the above statistical optimi!ation will be slightly compromised because the subscalesare modestly correlated (see Table 3)" This is the price of imperfect simple structure and ofweighting each item in the scale by 1& instead of by the items more refined factor loading& whensumming scores of subscales" Funnally (12E8) suggests& however& that such refined weightingma-es little difference in practice" This contention is supported by the fact that the correlations between the subscales are much smaller than those between the items within the subscales(summari!ed by the substantial %ronbach alphas)"

These contrasting patterns of correlation generally support the convergent and discriminantvalidities of the GPA scales& and suggest that efficient statistical discrimination is highly li-ely"

#urthermore& the predominantly orthogonal nature of the scales allows us to con,ugate thevarieties of abuse& affording us powerful heuristic strategies for theory development" Asubseuent paper will elaborate upon the heuristic value of con,ugating the GPA scales"

Table 3" %orrelations <etween 4cales



4c1 4c7 4c3 4cJ GPA

4c1$ %ompliance 1"00 "1: "3: "33 "E0

4c7$ 'ploitation "1: 1"00 "71 "12 ":3

4c3$ ind %ontrol "3: "71 1"00 "7E "2

4cJ$ Anious *ep" "33 "12 "7E 1"00 "E0

Group Psych" Abuse "E0 ":3 "2 "E0 1"00

Psychological +ationale for #actor Fames

%ompliance" The concept of compliance is nearly selfevident in the factor loadings$ se livesdictated (O01)& sacrificing own goals (O0J)& intimacy dictated (O1J)& serving leaders (O18)&leaders ma-ing decisions (O71)& and consulting leaders on decisions (O78)" The groups livingtogether (O13) is not overtly reflective of compliance but becomes so when one considers thatsuch communal living is typically demanded by leadership and ma-es noncompliance to groupnorms more difficult"

ost of the ecluded but relevant items in Table 3 also describe compliance situations& ranging

from the minimum needed to meet the definition of compliance (O7E& leaders are obeyed) tofanatical devotion (O73& will die for leader)" 6tems O731& O7J2& O7:7& and O7:3 (which relate tofeelings of guilt& inadeuacy& failure) describe the reactions of someone who believes incompliance but& for whatever reason& does not measure up"

'ploitation" At first we wanted to label this factor /power/ but decided that the word was toogeneral in meaning" any people can see- power ethically" #or eample& a benign political orreligious movement may see- to raise money (O12)& recruit members (O7E)& or gain political power (O0:)" These items reflect the power dimension of eploitation" A cult& however& will tendto use unethical means to gain power" They manipulate& abuse& and use peoplethat is& cultseploit people"

This sense of unethical means comes across rather clearly in other factor items& such asapproving of violence against outsiders (O17)& threatening outside critics (O70)& advocatinglawbrea-ing (O03)& or directing women to use their bodies for the group (O07)" The powersee-ing dimension of eploitation is also reflected in some of the ecluded items in Table 3$assets given to group (O777)& lives at lower standard than leader (O73E)& and secret agencysupports (O30)" ost of the other items reflect the manipulation=abuse=use component of



eploitation"

ind %ontrol" The items in the %ompliance factor refer to behaviors that leadership values$serve leader& follow group guidelines& live with other members& and so on" The items in #actor 3

(including most of the ecluded items in Table 3) refer to a particular type ofrelationship between the leaders and followers" 6tem O1 (people stay because deceived andmanipulated) captures much of the meaning of this factor"

@ther items of the subscale and those included in Table 3 reflect methods by which leadershipsustains the deception$ the leader critici!es members (O7:)& critical thin-ing is impaired (O77)& psychological pressure from leader (O7)& members feel they are part of elite (O02)(this latteritem is one of the few QcarrotsR among the many Qstic-sR)"

'ven most of the ecluded items describe techniues for sustaining the deception and dominanceof the leader$ uestions are discouraged (O77)& dissent is not tolerated (O7J3& O7J)&

information and time are controlled (O7:1& O720)& a childli-e dependency is enforced (O301)"

e had considered naming this factor QmanipulationR but decided the term was too general" Theitems in this factor seem to be pointing to a special -ind of manipulation in which themanipulator see-s not only compliance on some dimension (as would an ordinary con man) but personal dominance as well" Given that the second and thirdhighest loadings were Qmindcontrol usedR (O7J) and Qgroup used coercive persuasionR (O11)& we concluded that QmindcontrolR was an appropriate label for this factor"

Anious *ependency" At first& the items in this factor seemed rather disparate& and we wonderedif the factor had a coherent meaning" Terms that came to mind included Qeclusivity&R

Qdependency&R Qisolation&R Qtotalism&R and Qfear"R 'ventually& Qanious dependencyR seemedmost effectively to summari!e this factor" This conclusion was based partly on clinicalobservations& partly on empirical findings (artin& 5angone& *ole& ; iltrout& 1227)& and partlyon theoretical reasoning" An article by %raig and eathers (1220) on archetypal dependency incult members was particularly helpful in illuminating the psychological dynamics reflected inthe simple and comple items of the subscales"

%raig and eathers pointed out that the dependency of the member on the group etends beyond physical levels to deep psychological and spiritual needs" This dependency resembles theunconditional archetypal bond between an infant and a parent" Cpon leaving the group& themember is thrown into severe separation aniety" The highestloading item in the subscale

(leaving group means eternal damnation& O0E) reflects both the absolute dependency on thegroup and the aniety associated with that dependency" Although dependency is often associatedwith aniety (because one tends to fear losing that on which one is dependent)& this connection isnot always necessary (e"g"& one may realistically depend on a person for certain things and feelreasonably secure in that relationship)" 6n a cult situation& however& dependency can be absoluteand fear tends to color all eperiences (ecept perhaps in the early QhoneymoonR phase ofrecruitment= seduction)"



As a way of consolidating absolute dependency& negative emotions toward the group (O08) arere,ected& thus contributing to the numinosity of the archetypal possession (Lung& 12E7& 12E394tein& 128J)" The archetypal inflation of the leader reaches its ultimate rarefied epression in theleaders supposed divinity (O73)" Through apotheosis& the leader becomes li-e an allpowerful

parent" The member& although mortal& is among the elite children of god" <etween the divine andthe elite mortal& however& stands an infinite Qcompetency gulf&R untraversable by the evergroping mere mortal" 4maller distances are perhaps found when an abusing husbandindoctrinates his wife to believe that she could never ma-e it without him (Tobias ; 5alich&122J)"

The archetypal base of cultic dependency is further consolidated by the assumption that critics of the group are under an evil power (O10) and& therefore& are to be feared and avoided by thoseremaining dependent on the group" 6n etreme cases& not even the medical establishment is to betrusted (O0 and O1)"

ost of the ecluded items also reflect an eplicit or implicit anious dependencyfor eample&items O7E (punishment for dissent)& O31 (only leaders true)& and O31E (avoid family andfriends)& which among the comple items have the three highest loadings on this factor"

An empirical definition of cult" 'merging from this analysis is an empirically based definition of cultism that seems to be concise and consistent with the views of most clinicians who havewor-ed with cult victims$

%ults are groups that often eploit members psychologically and=or financially& typically byma-ing members comply with leaderships demands through certain types of psychologicalmanipulation& popularly called mind control& and through the inculcation of deepseated anious

dependency on the group and its leaders"

6t is important to remember that the con,ugation of subscales may produce GPA profiles thatvary from the set of related profiles that would fall within this definition of Qcult"R +ationalanalysis and empirical investigations (e"g"& discriminant analysis) of the spectrum of profiles canresult in a classification system for the varieties of psychological abuse& with QcultR being one ofmany possible categories within this system"

*iscrimination and >ariations on the Theme of Abuse

Although noncultic groups were not included in the study& a sense of the GPAs discriminatory

power may be gleaned by comparing the means of the scales with the ranges of ratings" Themeans and standard deviations of the items and subscales (see Table J) suggest that& on average&most of the cults score positively on the four types of abuse" e define positivity by reference tothe midpoints of the possibilities" The midpoint of the items rating range is 3" The subscalesmidpoint is 3EI71" The GPA summary scale midpoint is 71JI8J" A positive score implies thatthe means fall above their respective midpoints" That is& they indicate a rating of characteristic tovery characteristic"



The mean for the GPA scale was 110"E0" A ttest comparing this mean with the midpoint of 8Jwas significant$ tI31"28& dfI7:J (due to missing values)& p"0001" Thus& the summary scale fallswell within the positive range of the GPA scores" The subscale means also fell above theirmidpoints& but they differed substantially from one another" 6n order to compare the subscale

means with one another and their midpoints& the subscales were treated as hypothetical levels inan analysis of variance" The *uncan multiplerange test showed that the scales differedsignificantly from one another$ #I10"7& dfI3& 1172& p"0001"

The 'ploitation scale mean of 77"88 was the lowest" 6ts 2K confidence range was 77"18 to73"2& placing it and the other scales above their midpoint of 71" The mean for Anious*ependency was the net highest$ mI7:"J89 its 2K confidence range was 7"83 to 7E"13" The

Table J" eans& 4tandard *eviations& 4tandard 'rror of eans&

and +anges of the GPA and 4cales

O ean 4"*" 4"'"" +ange *escription

GPA 110"E0 13"J7 "83 E0132 Group Psychological Abuse

(3"2 "J8 "030 7"J"2:)1HS

4c1$ %ompliance

4c1 72"7E "30 "302 83 %ompliance

(J"18 0"E: "0JJ 1"1)

+01S7HS J"77 1"01 "0:3 1 se lives not dictated

0J J"12 1"00 "0:7 1 sacrifice own goals

13 3"87 1"3J "08J 1 group lives together

1J J"7J 1"0 "0:: 1 intimacy dictated

18 J"3J 1"07 "0:J 1 serve leaders

71 J"3 1"0J "0: 1 members ma-e decisions

78 J"7J 1"11 "0E0 1 members must consult

http://www.icsahome.com/articles/the-group-psychological-abuse-scale-csj-11-1-1994#ftnt1






4c7$ 'ploitation

4c7 77"2: "21 "37 E3 'ploitation

(3"78 0"8J "00 1)

07 7"00 1"71 "0E: 1 women seduce for group

03 3"J8 1"3E "08 1 brea-ing law o-ay

0: 3"10 1"3 "02 1 politics ma,or goal

17 7":2 1"J0 "08E 1 violence to outsiders

12 3"81 1"J1 "088 1 money ma,or goal

70 3":7 1"77 "0E: 1 critics threatened

7E J"38 1"0: "0:: 1 recruiting ma,or goal

Table J" (continued)

4c3$ ind %ontrol

4c3 31":J 3"J3 "707 713 ind %ontrol

(J"7 0"J2 "072 3)

02 J"8: 0"3: "07J 7 members part of elite

11 J"7 0"81 "01 1 coercive persuasion

1 J": 0":E "0J7 7 stay because deceived

+77 J" 0"E8 "0J2 1 can thin- critically

7J J":1 0":E "0J7 1 mind control used

+7 J"37 1"07 "0:J 1 little psychological pressure

+7: J"12 1"1J "0E1 1 criticism rare

4cJ$ Anious *ependency



4cJ 7:"7 " "37: 83 Anious *ependency

(3"E2 0"E2 "0J: 1"1)

0 3"32 1"71 "0E 1 medical help o-ay

0E J"03 1"7: "0E2 1 leaving is damnation

08 J"7J 1"08 "0:E 1 no negative emotions

10 J"0: 1"33 "083 1 criticism is evil

1: 3"E1 1"7 &02 1 eercises remove doubt

1E 7"22 1"3J "08J 1 no medical help

73 J"0E 1"78 "080 1 leader is divine

%ompliance scale mean was net highest$ mI72"7E9 its 2K range was 78":: to 72"8E" The ind%ontrol scale produced the highest mean$ mI31"::9 its 2K range was 31"7: to 37"0E"

%onsideration of the means and ranges for the specific items listed in Table J suggests that most but not all of the item means were above the midpoint of 3" As a group& the cults did not havewomen seducing for them (mI7"00) and did not advocate violence against outsiders (mI7":2)"

The factor analysis loadings& however& indicate that groups that advocate these items did tend toscore higher on the general factor of eploitation"

The loadings reflect the meaning of the factor at all levels" 4eduction may be rare in general& butit nonetheless falls into the pattern of eploitation" Thus& the fact that 7 of the 78 items were notgenerally characteristic of the cults does not invalidate the factorial meaningfulness of the twoitems" e would epect the more etremely eploitative groups to encourage seduction andviolence"

The notion of a continuum of abuse& as discussed for the items& may also be of relevance to thesubscale means but with a very important difference" The AF@>A showed that the subscale

means differed significantly from one another" The subscales& however& are different from theitems in that they are generally uncorrelated" They are not points along an essential continuum" Fevertheless& factors do lend themselves to various nonessential but characteristic continuums"This point is potentially confused by the differences and correlations between the subscales&which may suggest a slightly prevalent continuum of factors"

The hypothetical continuum ranges from ind %ontrol (mI31"::) to %ompliance (mI72"7E) toAnious *ependency (7:"J8) to 'ploitation (mI77"88)" 4imilarly& ind %ontrol is most highly



correlated with %ompliance (rI"3:)9 while %ompliances net highest correlation is with Anious*ependency ("33)& which is followed by the remaining correlation lin-ing Anious *ependencywith 'ploitation ("12)" Although each correlation is statistically significant& they do not collapsethe general simple structure" At worst& the factor structure is slightly obliue" Thus& the

hypothetical seuence of factors is certainly not the only seuence suggested by the data"

<ecause the factors are orthogonal& the subscales and their combinations are best viewed asvarieties of the species psychological abuse" 'ach item and subscale contributes to the overalllevel of abuse9 but there are many potential paths that could be constructed through the matri of varieties& each characteri!ing a different behavioral seuence or syndrome of abuse"

Thus& in addition to the static (profile) perspective on the GPA discussed earlier& there is adynamic (seuence) perspective that one can ta-e" The delineation of seuences through a matriof varieties can be useful in eplicating the dynamics of cultic abuse" #or eample& the seuenceof ind %ontrol to %ompliance to Anious *ependency to 'ploitation is consistent with *ole

and *ubrow'ichels (128) findings" 6t is vital& however& that we recogni!e that cult leadersmay freely con,ugate the varieties of abuse and that none of these permutations provides anessential definition of cultic abuse" These permutations may& nonetheless& prove very useful inelaborating the eistential nature of cultic abuse" Thus& an unscrupulous& charismatic leader mayfollow the seuence above or may stumble upon a small group of already aniously dependentindividuals and ta-e advantage of their psychological wea-ness to persuade them to comply tohis eploitative demands without resorting to much mind control" This is a different permutation&or seuence& from that listed above" <ut both participate in the common eistential nature of psychological abuse"

+elating these ideas to the classification of profiles discussed earlier suggests that the varieties of

psychological abuse implied by the GPA subscales may be viewed from both dynamic(seuence) and static (profile) perspectives"

%onclusions and +ecommendations for #urther +esearch

%ontent validity for the GPA has been built from the *ole and *ubrow'ichel (128) *elphistudy& the 5angone and %hambers (1221) factor analysis of terms& and 5angones (1227) philosophical analysis of the respect=abuse continuum" #actorial validation of the GPA employed principal components analysis with varima rotation" 6tems were selected in order to promotethe simple structure of the GPA" +eliability coefficients for the GPA and its subscales support theuse of the GPA in research contets" uch additional research is needed& however& before we can

claim definitive construct validity for the GPA scales"

As alluded to earlier& discrimination is a crucial element in construct validity" 6ndeed&discrimination of cultic and noncultic groups would probably be the most common applicationof the GPA or of any other cult abuse scale" 4teps toward establishing discriminant validity havealready been ta-en"

6n her masters thesis& Adams (1223) used the GPA subscales to contrast former members of the



%incinnati %hurch of %hrist (%%%) with former members of 6nter>arsity %hristian #ellowship(6>%#)" The %%% is described by many as a cult& while the 6>%#& a mainstream campus group&is not considered cultic" Adams found the %%% scored much higher on all four GPA subscalesthan did the 6>%#" These results are encouraging and represent important steps in the

establishment of discriminant validity" Additional studies of this nature will be conducted"

any applications of the GPA scales may be envisioned" As a standardi!ed ob,ective instrument&the GPA would lend considerable clarity to legal& philosophical& and psychological debatesconcerning the etent and manner of the abuse inflicted by cultic groups" *o therapy cults differfrom religious cults in their emphasis on mind control/ *o women report abuse in cultsdifferently than men do/ *o former members alter their ratings if they have participated in aneit counseling session/ .ow do the ratings by former members compare with those of cultleaders& apologists& eit counselors& parents& and others/ *oes the convergence of formermembers views with their parents views of the group herald the reintegration of the family/ Arethere groups (academic& corporate& religious& professional) that would not ordinarily be

considered cultic but that score high on one or more of the subscales/ %ould the GPA be used tomonitor the transformation of an innocuous group into a cult or of a cult into an innocuousgroup/ 5iterally hundreds of uestions could be answered using the GPA or a similar scale"

#or now it is important that validation research with the GPA continue before the scale is used toma-e any conclusive ,udgments" ore construct validity studies should be performed" The GPAfactors should be crossvalidated with different samples of sub,ects& including panels of eperts"The sample used in this study must be broadened to include more emembers outside thecountercult networ-& current cultists& and members and former members of noncultic groups" 6tmay be necessary to improve some of the items in order to simplify the factor structure"Testretest reliability should be eamined" Forms should eventually be gathered"

The good news is that all of these steps toward validation are wellestablished procedures" 6t willta-e some wor-& but the fruits will be worth the labor" e will come to a more systematicunderstanding of the psychological abuse in cults" These possibilities more than warrant theinvestment of additional research with the GPA scales"

+eferences

Adams& *" (1223)" The %incinnati %hurch of %hrist$ .ow former members rate the group on thecultism scale" Cnpublished masters thesis& avier Cniversity& %incinnati& @."

%raig& F" "& ; eathers& +" (1220)" The false transformational promise of <iblebased cults$Archetypal dynamics" %ultic 4tudies Lournal& E(7)& 1:0/1E3"

*ole& A"& ; *ubrow'ichel& 4" (128)" 4ome new religions are dangerous" %ultic 4tudies Lournal&7& 1E/30"

Ghiselli& '" '"& %ampbell& L" P"& ; Bedec-& 4" (1281)" easurement theory for the behavioral



sciences" 4an #rancisco$ " ." #reeman"

Gorsuch& +" 5" (1283)" #actor analysis" .illsdale& FL$ 5awrence 'rlbaum"

Lung& %" G" (12E7)" Two essays on analytical psychology" Princeton& FL$ Princeton CniversityPress"

Lung& %" G" (12E3)" andala symbolism" Princeton& FL$ Princeton Cniversity Press"

Derlinger& #" F" (12E3)" #oundations of behavioral research" Few ?or-$ .olt& +inehart& ;inston"

5angone& " *"& ; %hambers& " >" (1221)" @utreach to ecult members$ The uestion ofterminology" %ultic 4tudies Lournal& 8(7)& 13J/10"

5angone& " *" (1227)" Psychological abuse" %ultic 4tudies Lournal& 2(7)& 70:/718"

5angone& " *" (1223)" .elping cult victims$ .istorical bac-ground" 6n " *" 5angone ('d")&+ecovery from cults$ .elp for victims of psychological and spiritual abuse" Few ?or-$ " " Forton"

5ifton& +" L" (12:1)" Thought reform and the psychology of totalism" Few ?or-$ " " Forton"

artin& P" +"& 5angone& " *"& *ole& A" A"& ; iltrout& L" (1227)" Postcult symptoms asmeasured by the %6 before and after residential treatment" %ultic 4tudies Lournal& 2(7)& 712/70"

Funnally& L" %" (12E8)" Psychometric theory" Few ?or-$ cGraw.ill"

@fshe& +"& ; 4inger& " T" (128:)" Attac-s on peripheral versus central elements of self and theimpact of thoughtreforming techniues" %ultic 4tudies Lournal& 3(1)& 37J"

4chein& '"& 4chneier& 6"& ; <a-er& %" ." (12:1)" %oercive persuasion" Few ?or-$ " " Forton"

4inger& " T"& Temerlin& "& ; 5angone& " *" (1220)" Psychotherapy cults" %ultic 4tudiesLournal& E(7)& 101/17"

4tein& " (128J)" Lungian analysis" 4hambhala$ 5ondon"

Thurstone& 5" 5" (12JE)" ultiplefactor analysis" %hicago$ Cniversity of %hicago Press"

Tobias& " 5"& ; 5alich& L" (122J) %aptive hearts& captive minds9 #reedom and recovery fromcults and abusive relationships" Alameda& %A$ .unter .ouse"



?ea-ley& #" ('d")" (1288)" The discipling dilemma" Fashville& TF$ Gospel Advocate"

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Appendi A$ GPA 4cale

This inventory is designed to evaluate certain aspects of religious& psychotherapeutic& political&commercial& and other groups" Please rate& as best you can& the degree to which the followingstatements characteri!e the group under consideration" +ate each item according toyour eperience and observations (in retrospect) of how the group actually functioned" 6f yourgroup had different levels of membership (within which the groups dominant features differed)& please apply the ratings to the level with which you have greatest familiarity" %ircle the bestanswer& using the following ratings$

1 I not at all characteristic

7 I not characteristic

3 I cant say=not sure

J I characteristic

I very characteristic

1"+H The group does not tell members how to conduct their se lives"

1 7 3 J

7" omen are directed to use their bodies for the purpose of recruiting or of manipulation"

1 7 3 J

3" The group advocates or implies that brea-ing the law is o-ay if it serves the interests of thegroup"

1 7 3 J

J" embers are epected to postpone or give up their personal& vocational& and educationalgoals in order to wor- for the group"

1 7 3 J

"+H The group encourages ill members to get medical assistance"



1 7 3 J

:" Gaining political power is a ma,or goal of the group"

1 7 3 J

E" embers believe that to leave the group would be death or eternal damnation for themselvesor their families"

1 7 3 J

8" The group discourages members from displaying negative emotions"

1 7 3 J

2" embers feel they are part of a special elite"

1 7 3 J

10" The group teaches that persons who are critical of the group are in the power of evil& satanicforces"

1 7 3 J

11" The group uses coercive persuasion and mind control"

1 7 3 J

17" The group approves of violence against outsiders (e"g"& /satanic communists&/ etc")"

1 7 3 J

13" embers are epected to live with other members"

1 7 3 J

1J" embers must abide by the groups guidelines regarding dating and intimate relationships"

1 7 3 J

1" People who stay in the group do so because they are deceived and manipulated"

1 7 3 J

1:" The group teaches special eercises (e"g"& meditation& chanting& spea-ing in tongues) to push



doubts or negative thoughts out of consciousness"

1 7 3 J

1E" edical attention is discouraged& even though there may be a medical problem"

1 7 3 J

18" embers are epected to serve the groups leaders"

1 7 3 J

12" +aising money is a ma,or goal of the group"

1 7 3 J

70" The group does not hesitate to threaten outside critics"

1 7 3 J

71"+H embers are epected to ma-e decisions without consulting the groups leader(s)"

1 7 3 J

77"+H embers are ,ust as capable of independent critical thin-ing as they were before they ,oined the group"

1 7 3 J

73" The group believes or implies its leader is divine"

1 7 3 J

7J" ind control is used without conscious consent of members"

1 7 3 J

7"+H embers feel little psychological pressure from leaders"

1 7 3 J

7:"+H The groups leader(s) rarely critici!e members"

1 7 3 J



7E" +ecruiting members is a ma,or goal of the group"

1 7 3 J

78" embers are epected to consult with leaders about most decisions& including thoseconcerning wor-& child rearing& whether or not to visit relatives& etc"

1 7 3 J

Fote$ +H items are reversed in scoring by finding the absolute difference between the rating andthe number :" *o not include the +H designations when administering the test"

At this time the GPA 4cale should be used only as a research instrument" e reuest thatresearchers wishing to use the GPA 4cale contact *r" 5angone (A##& P"@" <o 77:& <onita4prings& #5 3322)"

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

illiam >" %hambers& Ph"*"& is a statistical consultant and assistant professor at Cniversity%ollege& ercer Cniversity" .e is coauthor with Lames Grice of %A4P'+& a software pac-agefor psychometric analysis"

ichael *" 5angone& Ph"*"& is editor of the %ultic 4tudies Lournal and eecutive director of A##".e is editor of +ecovery from %ults$ .elp for >ictims of Psychological and 4piritual Abuse ("" Forton& 1223)"

Arthur A" *ole& Ph"*"& is Professor 'meritus& *ivision of Psychology in 'ducation& Graduate4chool of 'ducation& Cniversity of Pennsylvania"

Lames " Grice& "A"& is a doctoral candidate in the *epartment of Psychology at the Cniversityof Few eico" .e was awarded the 122J ariani Award as the outstanding student by the Feweico Psychological Association"

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Documents

The Group Psychological Abuse Scale