Can raising a child JW contribute to later psychiatric disorders?

by journey-on 62 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  steve2

  What is your practice?
  
  2. Re-read Carla's post, she sums it up so well

  I'm a registered clinical psychologist working in an emergency hospital setting, dealing on a daily basis with individuals who are at high risk of serious self harm. In my work, I come across people from a range of religious persuasions, including fundamentalist Christians, Mormons, Adventists, JWs and more mainstream churches.

  It is interesting to note that children raised in these groups do present to emergency departments with self harm especially early adolescence. The main problems of many of these children revolve around fearing that their parents will disapprove or "pray" over them if they ever found out about their mental health difficulties. it is not uncommon to see young males suffering depression and suicidal ideation because they fear their parents and God will condemn them because of their sexual orientation.

  Believe me, any clinician working in this setting quickly realises that no one religious group has the self-harm/suicidal ideation market cornered. Everyday we see the tragic consequences of the fundamentalist outlook on young people. But I wish not to overstate the picture because the majority of people from these religions never present with mental health problems.

  Another point I have often made on this forum is that correlation does not equal causation. Even if it were established that JWs present to mental health services at a higher rate than the general population, it would only establish correlation, not causation. The biggest mistake made by non-peer-reviewed articles on mental illness - of which Jerry Bergman is a prime example - is concluding that the organization causes it and then working backwards to prove it does. As I have often stated, there are other plausible explanations, including the following: People who are already prone to mental illness are attracted to and affected more by religions that promise easy answers; mental ilness could be a consequence of membership in a disliked group (i.e., the dominant culture oppresses smaller groups). That these alternative explanations are not even considered by the likes of Bergman suggests a bias that is more suited to propaganda than so-called social-scientific inquiry.
• 

  Junction-Guy

  The last point you made about being in a disliked group may have some truth to it, especially when you are unwillingly in a disliked group, such as myself when I was a child.
  
  Now I'm not suicidal by any means, but I have had alot of depression due to the side effects of the JW religion. Plus I have had alot of phobias over the years, low self esteem, and the list goes on and on. Depression for me is not biological, although for many people it seems to be the case.
• 

  blondie

  Well stated steve2, and I agree.

  I'm a registered clinical psychologist working in an emergency hospital setting, dealing on a daily basis with individuals who are at high risk of serious self harm. In my work, I come across people from a range of religious persuasions, including fundamentalist Christians, Mormons, Adventists, JWs and more mainstream churches.

  It is interesting to note that children raised in these groups do present to emergency departments with self harm especially early adolescence. The main problems of many of these children revolve around fearing that their parents will disapprove or "pray" over them if they ever found out about their mental health difficulties. it is not uncommon to see young males suffering depression and suicidal ideation because they fear their parents and God will condemn them because of their sexual orientation.

  Believe me, any clinician working in this setting quickly realises that no one religious group has the self-harm/suicidal ideation market cornered. Everyday we see the tragic consequences of the fundamentalist outlook on young people. But I wish not to overstate the picture because the majority of people from these religions never present with mental health problems.

  Another point I have often made on this forum is that correlation does not equal causation. Even if it were established that JWs present to mental health services at a higher rate than the general population, it would only establish correlation, not causation. The biggest mistake made by non-peer-reviewed articles on mental illness - of which Jerry Bergman is a prime example - is concluding that the organization causes it and then working backwards to prove it does. As I have often stated, there are other plausible explanations, including the following: People who are already prone to mental illness are attracted to and affected more by religions that promise easy answers; mental ilness could be a consequence of membership in a disliked group (i.e., the dominant culture oppresses smaller groups). That these alternative explanations are not even considered by the likes of Bergman suggests a bias that is more suited to propaganda than so-called social-scientific inquiry.
• 

  Gill

  Steve2 - You make good points that certainly apply to people who might be attracted to and choose to join a cult such as the JWs.

  The point you fail to address is the effect that being brought up in such a group by such parents may affect adversely children who would have been 'normal' if it had not been for their warped upbringing.

  As an extreme example to illustrate my point, what would a young girl have been like as an adult if she had perhaps not been sexually assaulted as a child?

  Would she have been considered mentally normal, if she is showing symptoms of depression or anxiety in her adulthood, if it were not for the severe negative effects of the trauma of her childhood? It's possible that a definite answer may never be known, but one fact that cannot be denied is that traumatic and even repeated negative events in a childhood cannot help a child have relaxed or normal mental outlook in later life.

  JW children are brought up with a warped view of the world which cannot be of benefit to their mental health as they grow up even if they don't show symptoms of depression, anxiety or any other mental illness.

  I agree, misfits and malcontents WILL be attracted to the WTBTS but what of their innocent children dragged up in the cult? That is another story and we cannot dismiss their suffereing and inconsequential or perhaps not even consider it inevitable.
• 

  Mincan

  I can assume being raised a JW has contributed to my Axis II and III diagnoses. Someone with ADHD did very poorly in that environment, never feeling good enough at baseline... Christ! watch out for this corporate axegrind.
• 

  steve2

  I agree, misfits and malcontents WILL be attracted to the WTBTS but what of their innocent children dragged up in the cult? That is another story and we cannot dismiss their suffereing and inconsequential or perhaps not even consider it inevitable.

  I agree with you and I'm sorry if anything I have written has implied that I have dismissed people's suffering. I actually thought I hadn't implied that at all, but if you've perceived something I've written as dismissive, my apologies.

  My point is that, even those raised in the religion are not empty vessels into which negative beliefs are poured and they suddenly develop mental illnesses of one type or another. Mental illnesses such as Major Depressive Disorder and Schizophrenia have significant heritability factors (i.e., if your parent has either of those diagnoses, there is a greater likelihood you will also develop the disorder than someone whose parents don't). In addition, there are personality variables. That is why people react so differently when exposed to similar upbringings. It is simplistic and damning of human reslilence to say that it is inevitable that people raised in the Watchtower will end up mentally ill. They don't. In fact, despite traumatic experiences in childhood, most people do not develop mental ilnesses.

  My view is that there are many unhealthy religions who are just as potentially likely to evoke traumatic responses in (some of) their members. To claim that the Watchtower is in some way unique among the "unhealthy" groups seems only part of the picture.
• 

  Gill

  Steve2 - Nothing to apologise for! I am not offended by anything you wrote, just thought that it is all far more complicated than some people think.

  Also, I agree completely that the WT members are not unique in suffering from the abuse of the WT Cult BUT that doesn't let them off the hook or even minimize the destructive qualities of their belief structure and control techniques.
• 

  R.Crusoe

  Steve 2 your correlation and causation views are interesting.

  Can it be proven that positive reinforcement of a persons self indoctrinates them with a higher incidence of healthy optimisms?

  Can it be proven that negative accentuations respecting human behaviour have an increased likelihood of promoting pessimistic views of self?

  Can it be proven that establishing afterlife rejections seriously impair humans abilities to function in this?

  Take the notion of religion. Especially a religion which sets out to win your alliegance!

  On what grounds does it do this?

  And at what cost if you fail?

  And is a person likely completely indoctrinated at the point they choose to follow it but fully aware of well known possible pitfalls awaiting them?

  And is indoctrination readily overcome by humans or does it have consequences?

  And does the nature of the indoctrination increase the self imposed effects of failure to adhere to its framework in the mind of the individual?

  Would indoctrination posit life threatening scenarios in some individuals minds and in knowing about such possibilities, is not the perpetrator under obligation to warn innocent others of such possible outcomes to the course they willingly and naively travel before leading them onto it?

  I propose that a high likelihood of causation is evident, in establishing and promoting increased likelihoods of even greater significance of pessimistic and depressive tendencies,in the cases of individuals who fail to adhere to the indoctrination they are being seduced into following and that it will be far higher for certain personality types than others, many of whom are more likely to be willing to make a complete life change with little resistance due to minimal self belief and esteem at the point of conversion!

  In effect I believe that indoctrination causes some individuals to suffer still further and for longer time periods the effects of information which seeks to make them accountable with their lives now and after death for things it places upon them as essentials of human responsibilty! In so doing it most certainly causes some individuals to consider suicide as an alternative to the reality they are living due to the indoctrination they have accepted as truth!

  It hinges largely on the indoctrination of individuals with a dictatorial belief system which lays its own claim to induce lifelong negative psychological and personal consequences to any failure to adhere to what they claim to be unique deliverance
• 

  steve2

  It hinges largely on the indoctrination of individuals with a dictatorial belief system which lays its own claim to induce lifelong negative psychological and personal consequences to any failure to adhere to what they claim to be unique deliverance

  Thanks for the thoughtful response. I think there is no doubt that some people are so adversely affected by exposure to authoritarian belief systems that they develop syndromes that could be classified as "mental illnesses". The interesting reality, though, is most people do not.

  In psychology, reference is made to so-called "vulnerability factors" which appear to pre-dispose individuals to developing mental illnesses. These factors include: dispositional variables (e.g., timid disposition versus a more outgoing disposition), personality variables (i.e., habitual responses to one's environment that may incline an individual to develop clinical disorders such as Borderline Personality Disorder or Dependent Personality Disorder), cognitive variables (i.e., level of intellectual functioning; e.g., individuals with lower intellectual functioning are more difficult to treat when they develop delusional disorders); family history of mental illness (i.e., heritability or genetic factors); head or traumatic brain injuries and yes, the environment.

  If you search the clinical literature which examines the etiology of mental illness, you'll soon realise that most theories on how mental illness is "caused" are, at best, partial explanations.

  Another point I made earlier needs to be reiterated: JWs are just one of many unhealthy groups that can impact adversely on people's mental health; but the religion is only one of many environmental variables impacting on the individual.

  Let's not forget that humans can suffer extraordinary trauma over a long period of time and not all of them will develop the same problems. There is huge variability in response, including significant numbers reporting that the experience made them stronger. Historically, and culturally (i.e., the Western culture) has tended to focus on the significant proportion who develop clinical disorders - and has given less attention to the interesting question of how resilience factors can also protect individuals from developing mental illnesses.
• 

  Gill

  Steve2 - So what about the effects of delusion? A JW is brought up with a totally fictitious future horizon..ie the 'real' possibility that they will a) never grow old and b) potentially NEVER have to die.

  I remember saying to the psychiatrist I saw that I had always believed and been told that I was going to live forever. I had discovered that I had been lied to and my horizon had disappeared. I felt I had no 'legs' to stand on and didn't know what was right or wrong and what was true or not as I knew I had chosen to believe a lie my whole life and this had destroyed any confidence in my own judgement. I had failed to see that I was being 'taken for a ride'. How could I ever trust my own judgement ever again after I had been told something repeatedly by my parents, the WT, at the meetings, by fellow JWs and been stupid enough to believe it.

  It took years to regain any confidence in my own judgement and the critical eye I should have developed if I had the sense to trust myself.

  A person does not have to become schizophrenic or any other such mental illness to not be seen as having a psychiatric disorder and mine was that I really did not know who I was, where I was and what I was and had to find out......the very thing I should have been doing for all those previous years and yet had never done so.

  It was quite a shock to go from looking in the mirror and seeing a 'super spiritual person' to a person who realised they were so stupid that they had wasted forty years of their precious life on LIES and stupid lies as well, the kind of lies that even an idiot should have sniffed out immeadiately.

  I think that and Organization that tells its members not to think and punishes free thinking is responsible for the damage and psychiatric harm it perpetrates on those trapped in it by their own stupid parents.