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Study on psychological experiences following group membership

Dear Participant,

This document provides information about the study in which you are invited to participate. It summarizes the study by answering several questions you may have regarding your participation.

Who are the principal investigators for this study?
The principal investigators are Victor Laurent (postdoctoral researcher in psychology, University of Lille, victor.laurent@univ-lille.fr), Thierry Kosinski (associate professor in psychology, University of Lille), and Sylvain Delouvée (associate professor in psychology, University Rennes 2). This research is co-funded by MIVILUDES (Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires) and Cn2r (Centre national de ressources et de résilience). The research team is independent in the design and conduct of the study.

What is the purpose of this study?
The purpose of this study is to examine people's psychological experiences following past membership in a group, including situations in which the experience within the group may have been difficult or problematic (for example, involving pressure, control, or excessive influence).

Are you eligible to participate?
You are eligible to participate if you are 18 years of age or older and believe that you have previously belonged to a group (e.g., spiritual, therapeutic, personal development, political, philosophical, religious, sports, educational, or other).

- Participation is open to individuals whose overall experience within the group was positive, as well as to those who encountered difficulties (e.g., pressure, control, or undue influence).
- It is open to people who left the group recently as well as to those who left it many years ago.
- You may also participate if you have distanced yourself from the group without completely severing ties, for example by maintaining social, ideological, financial, or physical connections with certain members or activities.

What does participation involve?
The study is conducted entirely online. You will be asked to complete a series of questionnaires assessing, for example, your emotional well-being and your experience within the group. The questionnaire takes approximately 20-35 minutes to complete.

What are the risks or inconveniences of participating?
You will be asked questions about your emotional well-being and about potentially difficult life experiences. You will also be asked about your experience within the group, which may be emotionally challenging if your experience was problematic.
If you would prefer not to answer questions of this nature, we recommend that you do not take part in this study.

How will your participation be useful?
Your responses will help us better understand the psychological impact of past group membership, particularly when the experience has been difficult. Together with responses from other participants, your data will contribute to scientific publications intended for researchers and professionals involved in psychological support and care, with the aim of improving support for individuals who have experienced distressing experiences within a group.

How will my responses and personal data be handled?
All data will be treated confidentially, and your anonymity will be guaranteed in all forms of data use. The research team may access the data for future scientific research only where it is compatible with the objectives of this study. No personally identifying information will be collected.

What are my rights as a participant?
You are free to decide whether or not to participate and may take as much time as you need to make your decision. If you choose to participate, you may withdraw at any time before submitting the final page of the questionnaire by simply closing the browser window. In that case, your responses will not be recorded. Because no personally identifying information will be collected, it will not be possible to identify your responses after submission. Consequently, requests to access, correct, or delete individual responses cannot be fulfilled.

Do you have any questions or encounter any problems?
You may ask any questions before or after your participation by contacting Victor Laurent at victor.laurent@univ-lille.fr. You may also use this email address to request information about the results of the study. Any email address you use for this purpose will not be retained.

How can I participate?
After reading this information sheet and understanding that the study includes questions about your emotional well-being and your past membership in a group, if you do not object to participating, please click the "Next" button.