Mental health and personality characteristics of Hare Krisha devotees and sympathizers as a function of acculturation into the Hare Krishna movement.
By Arnold S. Weiss, Ph.D., 1985
Dissertation Abstracts International 46:b.
In 1985, as a full-time member of the ISKCON Public Affairs Department, I worked with Arnie Weiss to recruit ISKCON devotees to take part in his study. Arnie had three surveys:
1) General Information Form He wrote this questionnaire of 117 questions to assess how involved someone is with ISKCON. It includes questions like, "If you presently practice Krishna Consciousness to what extent do you practice? Very Weakly, Moderately, Very Intensely, and so on. Click here to see this survey.
2. Comrey Personality Scales Form A, Andrew L. Comrey Published by EdlTS San Diego, California 92107 Copyright @ 1970, by Educational & Industrial Testing Services
The Comrey Personality Scales have a page on Wikipedia, but I could not find a link to the company itself. Click here to see this survey.
3. RAND Mental Health Inventory
RAND surveys are free to use, but they request an appropriate citation. Go to their site to learn more. Click here to see this survey.
Conclusions
Even though researchers may not replicate this exact study, I believe sharing the surveys may inspire researchers who are designing studies of cult members. There's a lot more work needed in this field.
Spiritual Abuse Resources
spiritualabuseresources.com/research
International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation
ijcam.org
