THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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A number of defensive strategies centred upon these split object relations were evident in
the subjects' narratives. Subjects one and four strove to actualise the fantasised ideal
object relation by transforming themselves into perfectly good children, in order to win
parental love and approval. Subjects three and five used the unconscious defence
mechanism of projective identification to locate the destructive internal objects outside of
themselves, where they were manifest as fearful supernatural visitations. Subject seven
also employed projective identification, but used this defence to externalise the good
aspects of himself, and then isolated himself in order to protect the outside world from his
internal destructiveness. Subject six resorted to conscious fantasies of being somebody
else, a more well-liked individual, in order to cope with his alienation and negative self
representation.
What is important to note, however, is that these defences were all unable to adequately
contain the subjects' anxiety related to bad self and object-representations. All the
subjects thus resorted to a more radical defence mechanism, namely identification with bad
internal objects and the adoption ofa negative identity. The structural consequence ofthis
defensive measure was the formation of a psychic organisation, or subpersonality, based
on introjective identification with the destructive part-object, the specific qualities of
which were shaped partly by destructive self aspects projected into the object. At the
social level this subpersonality was expressed and reinforced by membership of deviant
youth subcultures, where aggressive opposition to conventional social norms was
rewarded with peer approval.
The need for peer group belonging, although a common feature ofadolescence, appears to
have assumed particular importance for these subjects. In the context ofperceived familial
rejection, they grew up with the feeling that they were outcasts, alienated not only from
their families, but also from a society that appeared to be judgmental, hostile, and
unwelcoming. Subjects initially experienced themselves to be friendless and unpopular
with their peers, either because they were socially withdrawn or, as in the case of subjects
five and seven, because their aggressive behaviour alienated other children. However, the
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