THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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The continued existence ofparanoid-schizoid dynamics in S is indicated by persistent signs
of splitting and projective identification. Despite his apparent Christian identity,
tenderness and hatred co-existed, and S oscillated between these affects without any
awareness of internal contradiction. Prior to referring to God as the tenderness inside of
him, S experienced God as a hypermasculine figure who shared S's negative perceptions
of other Christians (165,166,167). God was thus attributed aspects of S's own grandiose
self representations (manliness, courage, and a contempt for weakness), while Christians
became the receptacles for S's split-off and dissociated negative self representations of
weakness and inferiority (170,172,173). However, a consequence of projective
identification was that, because both bad and idealised parts of him were dispersed in
fantasy, S became confused as to whether the spiritual forces he was aware ofwere evil or
divine, aspects of God or of Satan (59). Furthermore, perceived rejection by his fellow
Christians, and encouragement by Satanists, made him uncertain about where he belonged
(159,160,161) His Christian conversion was not able to sufficiently ameliorate his
internal destructiveness or his splitting defences.
Subject Three
14.3.1. Predisposing factors
S's childhood discovery of his adopted status, and his older siblings' failure to relate to
him as their brother, made him feel alienated and rejected (1,2,8). S received frequent
beatings from his stepfather (5,6), was often left with a relative while his parents socialised
at night, and felt that his stepmother did not protect him or show him any affection (4,7).
S's early relationships thus comprised an abandoning biological mother and father, an
unloving stepmother, a physically violent stepfather, and older siblings who refused to
acknowledge him as part of the family. With little early good object experience to
counteract S's own aggressive fantasies, together with the cruel and rejecting quality ofhis
earliest relationships, S's internal world was populated by internal objects reflecting the
destructive projections stemming from his unmet oral dependency needs, aggravated by
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