Best questions for ex-cult member survey about ptsd symptoms

Here are some of the best questions for an ex-cult member survey about PTSD symptoms, and tips on how to create them. You can build, tweak, and launch a smart AI-driven survey with Specific in seconds—just generate your own and discover deeper insights for real-world support.

Best open-ended questions for ex-cult member survey about PTSD symptoms

Open-ended questions offer ex-cult members a safe space to express their experiences in their own words. They’re essential for understanding the complexities of PTSD, especially as data shows ex-cult members experience PTSD at rates far higher than the general public—up to 71.3% for women and 61.4% for men in the U.S. [1] Unlike yes/no or checkbox responses, open-ended prompts invite stories, struggles, and details that might otherwise go unreported.

• Benefits: Reveal nuances, highlight unique details, and allow respondents to set the direction of the conversation.

• Best used when: You want deep context, new themes, or rich qualitative data to improve support, services, or research.

1. Can you describe specific memories or experiences from your time in the group that you still think about today?

2. How do your daily routines or interactions feel different now compared to when you first left the group?

3. Are there particular triggers or reminders that cause you distress or anxiety?

4. How would you explain your most challenging emotional moments since leaving?

5. What kind of support or resources have been most (or least) helpful in your recovery so far?

6. In what ways has your sense of identity changed since your experience in the cult?

7. How has sleep, appetite, or concentration been affected for you?

8. When you think about trust or relationships, what stands out as the biggest challenge or change?

9. What do you wish mental health professionals or friends understood about your experiences?

10. Is there anything about your story or symptoms that we haven’t asked but you want to share?

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for ex-cult member survey about PTSD symptoms

Single-select multiple-choice questions make it easy to quantify trends or start deeper conversations. They’re especially effective when you want to:

• Measure prevalence—how common certain symptoms or struggles are among ex-cult members.

• Ease respondents in—selecting an option can feel less daunting and help kick off the conversation, especially about tough subjects.

• Lay the groundwork for smart AI follow-up questions that gather richer insights.

Question: Which of the following symptoms have you experienced most frequently since leaving the group?

• Intrusive memories or flashbacks

• Difficulty sleeping

• Heightened anxiety or fear

• Feeling detached or numb

• Other

Question: How often do you feel triggered by reminders of your past group involvement?

• Daily

• A few times a week

• Rarely

• Almost never

Question: What kind of professional support have you sought for your symptoms?

• Therapy with a PTSD specialist

• General mental health counseling

• No professional support yet

• Other

When to followup with "why?" When someone picks a specific symptom or frequency, ask why or how it impacts them. This uncovers the personal story behind the choice, like “Why do you think intrusive memories happen most frequently for you?” Gathering reasons helps identify specific triggers or unmet needs that structured questions can’t surface alone.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Use "Other" any time you need to ensure no experience is left unvoiced; some symptoms or support types might fall outside your initial categories. Follow-up on “Other” responses to identify new patterns and add them to your understanding or future survey versions—it’s often where unexpected insights hide.

NPS-type question for ex-cult member survey about PTSD symptoms

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a single, widely recognized question for measuring likelihood to recommend a support or service. In the context of ex-cult member PTSD symptoms, it helps organizations understand trust and satisfaction with resources offered. High PTSD rates among ex-cult members demonstrate the importance of targeted interventions, and NPS can act as a straightforward pulse-check for ongoing programs. For an instant start, try this NPS survey for ex-cult members about PTSD symptoms.

• “On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend the support resources you’ve received to another ex-cult member struggling with PTSD symptoms?”

Use follow-up questions for detractors (0-6), passives (7-8), and promoters (9-10) to dig into what worked, what didn’t, and what’s missing—vital for iterating on mental health services.

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions are a game-changer—Specific’s automated AI follow-up questions ask smart, real-time probes based on each answer. This approach gathers far richer insights: if a response is vague or partial, the AI clarifies, digs deeper, or explores new angles like a skilled interviewer.

Why does this matter? Data shows AI-powered surveys dramatically boost completion rates—up to 90% versus 30% for old-school forms—because the interaction feels like a helpful conversation, not a test. [3]

• Ex-cult member: "I feel anxious sometimes."

• AI follow-up: "What usually triggers that anxiety, and how does it affect your day-to-day life?"

This extra context can be the difference between a shallow stat and a truly actionable insight.

How many followups to ask? In practice, 2-3 well-tuned follow-ups per topic is the sweet spot. More than that can cause fatigue, so it’s smart to design your survey (and Specific lets you do this) with a “skip to next question” setting once you hit key points or sense the respondent wishes to move on.

This makes it a conversational survey—the experience actually mirrors real dialogue, building trust and encouraging openness. That’s foundational when discussing sensitive PTSD symptoms.

AI response analysis, summaries, text clustering: Even with lots of open-ended feedback, it’s simple to analyze responses from an ex-cult PTSD survey with AI. Specific clusters similar responses, summarizes feedback, and lets you chat with AI about your results, making complex data instantly useful for teams and researchers.

These advances in automated AI questioning are genuinely new—so don’t just read about it. Try generating a conversational survey and feel the difference in insight quality for yourself.

How to prompt ChatGPT or GPT-4 to generate better survey questions

The fastest way to draft great survey questions is to use a strong prompt. Try:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Ex-Cult Member survey about PTSD Symptoms.

But generic prompts only get you so far. The more context about your audience, goals, or situation, the better the results. Example prompt:

You are an expert researching PTSD symptoms among ex-cult members. Our goal is to understand both the severity of symptoms and the nuances of recovery. Suggest 10 open-ended questions that cover emotional, physical, and social aspects of adjusting to post-cult life.

Once you have a draft, make ChatGPT sort them by type or topic for clarity:

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

Pick one or two themes—like “identity changes” or “support needs”—and zoom in for more:

Generate 10 questions for categories ‘identity change’ and ‘coping mechanisms’.

What is a conversational survey—and why use AI to build one?

Conversational surveys feel like a real chat—not a cold form—thanks to dynamic, personalized follow-ups. This modern method transforms the survey experience for both researchers and respondents, especially in sensitive settings like PTSD research with ex-cult members.

• Manual surveys: fixed, linear forms; no adaptation; hard for participants to express nuance; time-consuming to analyze.

• AI-generated (conversational) surveys: adaptive, friendly, can clarify or ask “why?” in real time; richer data; analysis with AI in seconds.

Why use AI for ex-cult member surveys? With PTSD rates in this group towering over the general public, targeted, personal, and nuanced feedback is absolutely critical. AI-driven surveys don’t just speed up delivery—they shape the conversation to honor each respondent’s story and comfort level. And since AI can analyze comments, find patterns, and report findings 60% faster and with 95% accuracy versus traditional approaches [2][3], you get faster, richer insight to actually improve support for those who need it most.

If you want to master building a truly adaptive survey, our step-by-step guide to creating surveys for ex-cult member PTSD research has everything you need, from best practices to smart automation tips.

Specific delivers a seamless, best-in-class experience for both survey creators and respondents—whether you’re conducting academic research, peer support, or ongoing program evaluation.

See this PTSD symptoms survey example now

Discover the first survey experience built for both depth and empathy—see instant insight into PTSD symptoms among ex-cult members and start crafting powerful, conversational surveys within minutes. Create your own survey today and unlock the conversations that matter most.