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.

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.

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.