This research explored how identity transitions are accomplished when individuals experience distress in relationship to the social systems in which they are embedded. Study participants grew up in cultic groups, where they were parented by committed members. Twenty-two people who chose to leave or were ejected from 12 groups provided low point, high point, and turning point stories for an exploratory narrative analysis.

Life story narratives revealed a jarring disconnect between what participants were expected to believe and become and how they experienced themselves. The research...