Best questions for ex-cult member survey about reasons for leaving

Here are some of the best questions for an ex-cult member survey about reasons for leaving, plus practical tips to craft them right. We’ve also included how Specific can help you build such a survey in seconds.

Best open-ended questions for ex-cult member survey about reasons for leaving

Open-ended questions give people room to share deeper stories, emotions, and perspectives—especially important for complex subjects like disaffiliating from groups. They’re essential when you want to capture the reality behind the numbers. Use them when you need rich detail, context, or to surface issues you never expected.

1. What was the biggest factor that led you to reconsider your involvement in the group?

2. Can you describe a moment or event that made you start questioning your beliefs within the group?

3. How did your personal values or goals change during your time in the group, if at all?

4. What emotions did you experience as you contemplated leaving?

5. How did relationships with family or friends outside the group influence your decision?

6. Were there any beliefs or practices in the group that became difficult for you to accept? Please explain.

7. What resources or support, if any, helped you through the process of leaving?

8. How has leaving affected your life—emotionally, socially, or spiritually?

9. What do you wish others understood about your reasons for leaving?

10. If you could give advice to someone considering leaving a similar group, what would you share?

These open-ended questions let ex-cult members voice nuanced experiences—critical when so many report unmet spiritual needs as their primary motive, as seen in the ex-Mormon community where 43% cited this as their main reason for leaving. [1]

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for ex-cult member survey about reasons for leaving

Single-select multiple-choice questions are useful when you want to quantify specific themes across responses or lower the friction for participants to share. They work well at the beginning to “break the ice” or later in your survey to pinpoint recurring patterns. Sometimes, respondents find it easier to select from concise choices, and these questions spark conversation for follow-up exploration.

Question: What was your primary reason for deciding to leave the group?

• Unmet spiritual needs

• Conflicts with leadership

• Concerns about group practices

• Desire for personal freedom

• Pressure from family or friends

• Psychological distress

• Other

Question: How would you describe your emotional state during the first months after leaving?

• Relief

• Confusion

• Loneliness

• Guilt

• Anxiety/depression

• Other

Question: What type of support, if any, did you seek after leaving?

• Professional counseling

• Support group for ex-members

• Family/friend support

• Online resources

• No support sought

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" Follow up with “why?” or “can you elaborate?” anytime you want clarity or want to surface deeper motivations. For example, if someone selects “Unmet spiritual needs,” a good follow-up could be, “Can you describe how your spiritual needs were not met by the group?” Direct follow-ups like this often yield the most detailed understanding.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always include “Other” when your list can’t capture every unique situation. Follow up with, “Please describe your answer,” to discover themes you hadn’t considered—sometimes the strongest insights come from these unexpected responses.

Should you use an NPS-type question for this survey?

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is usually a measure of how likely someone is to recommend a product or service, but it can be adapted. For ex-cult member surveys about reasons for leaving, you might use an NPS-style question to gauge how strongly former members would advise others to leave, or to measure life satisfaction after leaving. This quantifies attitudes and can highlight how broad or polarized sentiments are—especially helpful when paired with follow-ups that ask for explanation. Try generating an NPS survey tailored to ex-cult members using our NPS survey builder.

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions are game-changers. We’ve seen that some of the most insightful answers come not from the initial questions, but from probing just a bit deeper. At Specific, automated AI follow-up questions do this naturally—reacting to each reply like a sharp interviewer. This approach not only saves you the hassle of hunting down more info via email later; it also makes the respondent’s experience feel more human and less like a cold form.

• Ex-cult member: "I felt uncomfortable about some group teachings."

• AI follow-up: "Can you share which teachings specifically made you uncomfortable and why?"

If you don’t ask follow-ups, responses stay general or vague—which means missed opportunities for understanding what truly drives departures. Our approach enables surveys that respond and adapt in real time, extracting context and meaning efficiently.

How many followups to ask? We recommend 2–3 well-placed follow-ups per question, balancing the need for detail with the respondent’s time. With Specific, you can even set conditions to stop asking once you've received enough insight, making the experience as streamlined as possible.

This makes it a conversational survey: By letting the AI handle follow-ups contextually, your survey feels more like a live conversation than a clinical questionnaire—a format that’s proven to boost engagement.

AI survey analysis: Don’t worry about handling a ton of text responses. With AI survey response analysis, you can quickly summarize what ex-cult members say and pinpoint common threads—even if replies are narrative and long-winded. Smart AI helps you understand big-picture insights, fast.

These automated follow-up questions are a new standard—so try to generate your survey and see how much easier and insightful your research process becomes.

How to use ChatGPT or other AI to write great questions for this survey

Start with a simple prompt to get a list of core open-ended questions:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Ex-Cult Member survey about Reasons For Leaving.

But AI always does better with a bit more context. For example, try adding your situation, your goals, or what you already know about common reasons for leaving:

I am creating a survey for ex-cult members who recently left high-demand religious groups. I want to capture both emotional and practical reasons for their decision, as well as their experience after leaving. Give me 10 open-ended questions that address motivations, challenges faced, support systems, and changes in worldview.

Once you have your list, ask AI to organize for you:

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

This process reveals the main themes—motivations, emotional journey, external support, post-departure impact. Now you can prompt AI to dive deeper:

Generate 10 questions for categories such as Motivations for Leaving, Emotional Consequences, and Support Systems.

Iterating this way ensures your survey is targeted and comprehensive, meeting your true research needs.

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey is an interactive, chat-like way to gather feedback—one that feels more like talking to a person than filling out a form. Unlike static surveys, it adapts in real time, asking relevant follow-up questions and making the interaction natural. This approach keeps respondents more engaged, especially on sensitive topics where people need to feel heard.

Traditional surveys are often rigid and miss context. AI-generated conversational surveys, like those you create with Specific, dynamically adapt based on responses. That’s not just easier for creators; it makes the whole experience smoother and the insight much richer—for both sides.

Why use AI for ex-cult member surveys? The stories and experiences shared by former cult members are nuanced. AI ensures you ask the right questions, adapt based on nuanced answers, and never miss a chance to uncover core themes—helping you get to the human truth fast, with less manual work and emotional friction.

If you want to explore more, check out our piece on how to create an ex-cult member survey about reasons for leaving.

Specific is built from the ground up for conversational surveys, focusing on the best user experience for both sides—so every respondent feels like their voice is heard, and every creator captures richer insights.

See this reasons for leaving survey example now

Ready to uncover real insights? Start designing your own ex-cult member survey—it’s powerful, frictionless, and will help you capture the truths and trends you need to know.