THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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reVIew suggests that a theoretical framework addressing the issue of unconSCIOUS
meanings, motives and structures is appropriate for answering the research questions
posed by this dissertation. It was argued that object relations theory is well-suited suited
to understanding the psychological reality of demonic possession, and the historical
interpersonal contexts predisposing individuals to satanic involvement. The usefulness of
object relations theory in understanding satanic involvement has been demonstrated by a
number of authors (Henderson, 1982; Ivey, 1993c; Olsson, 1983). However, none of
these authors have employed a rigorous and systematic method for investigating object
relations in satanic cult members, although some researchers have devised empirical
methods for researching object relations in various clinical populations (Blatt & Lerner,
1983). The most prolific ofthese authors is Westen (1991a, 1991b; 1991c) who, drawing
on an integration of object relations and social cognition theory, has developed an
instrument for measuring developmental aspects of object relations and social cognition
(Westen, 1985). However, this instrument, which essentially measures the maturity of
object relations functioning is not particularly relevant to the nature and aims of this
research. An original interpretive method was thus devised to grasp the internal object
relations derivatives implicit in subjects' descriptive accounts oftheir satanic involvement.
Although this research aims to establish a dialogue between object relations and Jungian
hermeneutics, as proposed in Chapter Twelve, it was not considered feasible to do so in
the data analysis stage. Rather, the object relations interpretations derived from the data
analysis are articulated with a Jungian discourse in Chapter Fifteen.
13.3 Research design and method
Research design refers to "a flexible set of guidelines that connects theoretical paradigms
to strategies of inquiry and methods for collecting empirical material" (Denzin & Lincoln,
1994, p. 14). For the purposes of this research, a method was devised which comprised
both phenomenological-descriptive and hermeneutic moments, where the former was used