Growing up in two different worlds : A qualitative interview study on the situation for children in religious cults

This study aims to examine how former members of religious cults describe their childhood within the cults. Specifically, the study examines former cult members’ view on the support from the child protective services and the school system given to children who are facing or already being subjected to maltreatment. The aim is also to examine how social workers describe their work situation with children in these groups. The study is based on semistructured interviews with four former cult members and two social workers. The theoretical framework is Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and risk and protective factors identified by research. The results of the study show that children in cults may be exposed to maltreatment, neglect and abuse. Former cult members identify several difficulties for the child protective services’ work with children in cults. Social workers experience various complications when investigating cases with children in these groups. The results also show that the child protective services’ knowledge of the situation for children in cults is insufficient, which earlier research also confirms. Our study implies that there are numerous similarities, such as control and restrictions, between religious cults and honour-based contexts