Best questions for ex-cult member survey about exit experience

Here are some of the best questions for an ex-cult member survey about exit experience, plus a few practical tips to help you build truly insightful questions. With Specific, you can generate a high-impact, conversational survey in seconds, powered by AI and ready for deep dives into lived experiences.

The best open-ended questions for ex-cult member surveys about exit experience

Open-ended questions let ex-cult members share their stories and details in their own words. They’re invaluable when you want to get beyond surface-level responses and truly understand the emotional and social realities of leaving a cult. For a topic as deeply personal as the exit experience, these questions bring unique, nuanced insight—especially knowing that 93% of former cult members report anxiety attacks after departure, and 63% have struggled with suicidal thoughts. [1]

1. Can you describe what led to your decision to leave the group?

2. What was the most challenging part of your exit experience?

3. How did your relationships change after you left?

4. What support, if any, did you have immediately after leaving?

5. How did your beliefs or values shift after your exit?

6. What helped most with your adjustment to life outside the group?

7. Can you share a memory that stands out from your first weeks outside?

8. What do you wish others understood about what it’s like to leave a group?

9. How have you coped with challenges like anxiety, isolation, or stigma?

10. Is there anything you wish you’d known before exiting?

Open-ended responses can uncover not just pain points and needs, but sources of hope or practical wisdom for others.

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for ex-cult member exit surveys

Single-select multiple-choice questions are perfect when you want to quantify experiences or quickly gauge sentiment before opening up for deeper conversation. They can get respondents engaged without requiring big emotional effort up front—especially helpful when covering tough topics.

Question: What was your primary reason for leaving the group?

• Disagreement with beliefs

• Family or relationship conflict

• Desire for autonomy

• Experiencing abuse or harm

• Other

Question: How would you rate the support received from people outside the group after your exit?

• Very supportive

• Somewhat supportive

• Not very supportive

• No support at all

Question: How difficult was it to reintegrate into society after leaving?

• Extremely difficult

• Somewhat difficult

• Somewhat easy

• Very easy

When to follow up with "why?" Often, if someone chooses "Somewhat difficult" or "No support at all", you want to ask, “Why?” to dig into specifics. Their follow-up response can explain circumstances or blockers—and lead to much more actionable insights than just a number or label.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always give space for unique situations by including “Other”—especially on sensitive topics like reasons for leaving. If someone picks “Other,” follow up with a prompt like, “Can you describe your reason in your own words?” You’ll uncover stories and challenges you didn’t anticipate, often revealing major gaps in your assumptions or approach.

Should you use an NPS-style question for exit experience surveys?

NPS (Net Promoter Score) asks: “How likely are you to recommend something to a friend?” In the context of exit surveys for ex-cult members, NPS can be reframed to ask, “How likely are you to support someone else considering leaving a similar group?” This question quantifies sentiment and confidence, and the score helps you segment by experience—those who became advocates, those who remain neutral, or those who might discourage others.

This approach fits well, as roughly 60% of ex-cult members struggle with reintegration into society, and comparative questions like NPS surface who’s found a path forward versus who hasn’t. [2] It’s easy to generate a ready-to-use template with Specific’s NPS survey builder.

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions bring surveys to life. Instead of static forms, you get a real-time, conversational feel. With automatic AI follow-ups powered by Specific, the survey reacts intelligently as people answer—asking “why”, “how”, or asking for examples, just like an expert interviewer would.

This matters for ex-cult exit experience surveys, where individual stories are often messy and hard to pigeonhole. Automated follow-ups save you hours spent chasing down unclear responses, making it effortless to gather deep context as the conversation flows naturally. For example:

• Ex-cult member: "I got some support from friends, but it was complicated."

• AI follow-up: "Could you tell me more about what made that support complicated for you?"

Suddenly, you’re learning about social pressure, misunderstanding, and more—and not just ticking a box.

How many followups to ask? We’ve found that 2-3 focused follow-ups per topic is a sweet spot. Too many, and you risk fatigue; too few, and clarity suffers. Specific lets you set rules so the survey stops probing when you’ve got what you need, or skips ahead if the respondent is finished.

This makes it a conversational survey—people stay engaged, answers are rich, and you build empathy and actionable insight instead of cold, incomplete data.

AI response summaries and analysis: Even if you get tons of open-text responses, AI-powered analysis (see how to analyze survey responses with AI) lets you extract themes, spot trends, and ask deeper questions—no spreadsheets or manual coding needed.

Automated follow-ups are a whole new way to survey—try generating a survey and experience the difference for yourself.

How to prompt ChatGPT (or other AI) to generate questions for ex-cult member exit experience surveys

If you want to draft questions with ChatGPT or a similar GPT model, start simple and then add depth and context. Here are some prompt templates you can use for your own AI-assisted survey design process:

To get a basic list:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Ex-Cult Member survey about Exit Experience.

For better results, add context about you and your goals. For example:

I’m a researcher creating a survey for ex-cult members to understand their experiences after leaving. I want to focus on psychological adjustment, support received, and challenges with reintegration. Suggest 10 open-ended questions that address these areas.

To organize your questions into logical groups:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Now, pick any category you want deeper insights on—like “Reintegration challenges”—and use:

Generate 10 questions for categories Reintegration challenges, Psychological impact.

This approach works well in Specific’s AI survey generator too, where you can edit and refine your prompts using natural language for a faster, more expert workflow.

What is a conversational survey and why it matters

Conversational surveys are a huge step up from traditional web forms—they feel like a chat, adapt in real time, and are optimized for mobile and desktop. The AI asks not only your main questions, but also the right follow-ups based on what’s relevant. Instead of static forms that drop-off after a few clicks, respondents stay engaged, fill out more details, and leave less ambiguous data behind.

Why use AI for ex-cult member surveys? AI removes the friction and emotional effort of static forms, making it easier for people to open up—even on difficult subjects like anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or reintegration. The adaptive nature of conversational surveys means every respondent gets a journey tailor-made for them, skipping irrelevant questions. With Specific’s blazing-fast AI survey builder, you’ll create truly engaging surveys and maximize the quality of your data.

Find more on how to create a survey step by step in this practical guide to building exit experience surveys.

See this exit experience survey example now

Bring your ex-cult member exit experience survey to life—capture the whole story and gain actionable insights that truly help. Specific’s conversational approach uncovers what really matters, so you can move from data to impact instantly. Try it and see what you’ve been missing.