Cultic Studies
Review, Vol. 8,
No. 1, 2009, pp.
1-15
Prevention Program
on Psychologically
Manipulative
Techniques
Esther Maté, Olga
Juárez, Núria
Ribas-Fitó, Mónica
Cortés, Maria Pau
González, Miguel
Perlado, Vega
González, Josep
Maria Jansà
Atenció i
Investigació de
Socioaddiccions (AIS),
Barcelona, Spain
Abstract
Because the
acquisition of
relationship
patterns is a
crucial aspect of
adolescent
development,
adolescents are
especially
vulnerable to the
lure of
psychologically
manipulative groups.
We hypothesize that
teaching adolescents
strategies and
capabilities for
resisting such
social manipulations
can diminish their
vulnerability. We
have developed a
program to counter
psychologically
manipulative
techniques directed
at 14- to
16-year-old
teenagers. This
program aims to (a)
prevent group
manipulation, (b)
make members of this
age group aware of
their vulnerability
to manipulation, and
(c) offer
information about
psychologically
manipulative groups
and techniques of
manipulation. The
program is designed
for teachers to
implement within the
academic schedule.
The two
interventions of the
program, implemented
during the 2005–2006
school year,
significantly
changed the attitude
of the participating
adolescents toward
groups with unclear
intentions (making
them more skeptical)
and increased the
adolescents’
awareness of the
groups’ existence,
compared to those
students who had no
such intervention.
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