LOOKING FOR SURVIVORS

[Anonymous]

(This survey can also be found on the "Troubled Teen Industry" forum.) I wanted to be sure those of you in Straight, Inc. had a chance to take part in this survey. We are going to try to get the results published through a university, and will work with others to see how we can best use the data.

Seeking survivors

If you are survivor of a residential teen program and would like to take part in this survey, please answer the following questions:

1. Which program did you attend?

2. How long were you in the program?

3. Why were you sent there?

4. Did you feel your parents were justified in sending you away?

5. How did you get there? Escort service pick you up in the middle of the night, or did you go willingly.

6. If you went willingly, do you feel the program was misrepresented to you? If so, how?

7. Education: Did you get a good education while you were in the program? Did you have teachers who gave lectures or was it all self teaching? Did you receive a high school diploma, or were you able to finish and get a diploma on time? Do you feel the education was adequate and helped you move on to college?

8. How was the food? And the cleanliness of the place?

9. Were you abused? If so, how? How many times? By whom?

10. Did you witness others being abused? If so, what form of abuse and how often?

11. Overall, was your experience positive or negative?

12. If it was positive, please summarize your experience.

13. If it was negative, please summarize your experience.

Thank you for your time.

[twilite]

I am a straight suvivor (Dallas), and stumbled onto this site quite by accident. I have been an emotional disaster all day but am glad I found it. I am afraid I cannot take this survey unless I know who you are and what exactly will be done with this information...................

Busy, curious, thirsty fly, Drink with me, and drink as I.
-- William Oldys (1696-1761): On a Fly drinking out of a Cup of Ale.

[pepper53190]

1. Which program did you attend?

Straight Orlando 90-92

2. How long were you in the program?

30 months

3. Why were you sent there?

Drug use and chronic runaway

4. Did you feel your parents were justified in sending you away?

sure.

5. How did you get there? Escort service pick you up in the middle of the night, or did you go willingly.

Parents tricked me.  They said we were going to check this place out.  Few other parents came along for the ride.  I ended up staying.

6. If you went willingly, do you feel the program was misrepresented to you? If so, how?

N/A

7. Education: Did you get a good education while you were in the program? Did you have teachers who gave lectures or was it all self teaching? Did you receive a high school diploma, or were you able to finish and get a diploma on time? Do you feel the education was adequate and helped you move on to college?

You couldn't go to school on 1st and 2nd phase and since I spent a majority of my time on those phases I just got my GED and and a job at 16.  Education was not at all a priority.

8. How was the food? And the cleanliness of the place?

ok, I guess.

9. Were you abused? If so, how? How many times? By whom?

I'm not really sure how to answer that.

10. Did you witness others being abused? If so, what form of abuse and how often?

Again I'm not sure how to answer that.  Too many instances I'm not sure where abuse or something that could be justified.  I was a teenager.

11. Overall, was your experience positive or negative?

negative

12. If it was positive, please summarize your experience.

13. If it was negative, please summarize your experience.

Summarize 30 months of my childhood?  It sucked.

[Anonymous]

http://fornits.com/SIBS :tup:

[Anonymous]

I must remain anonymous, sorry, I don't have a user name here for a good reason. Please believe that I am doing this for the right reason. You can go on "The Troubled Teen Industry" portion of Fornits where you'll find this survey there as well.

We are trying to put something together and working with psychologists at a university. One big piece missing is that we do not, as yet, have any solid statistics. It's time to start, so this is where we start. I'm hoping people will trust the process, and I know that trust is a tough thing for most.

A little about me - I got into this because kids who I love (friends) were sent to WWASP programs, were abused, and needed my help during the aftermath.

Once I learned about this industry and what was really going on (and believe me, I'm still learning and shocked every day) there was no turning back.

Survivors' realities became mine and their voices and faces, the many I have now talked to and helped, will not ever leave me. I have to do something to help and this is one way I figure I can do something constructive and that will help others in the future who are trying to put an end to this madness.

You see, as I see it right now the industry has the upper hand. I would like to see that change. In order for that to happen some things need to be in place. Up to now, again as I see it, our voices are not being heard in any substantial way. It is hard to ignore hard, cold, gathered data in the form of a survey, especially if we can get a university professor to publish the data and then put it out there on every website and forum.

I know it's not the almighty answer, and I know there is not one single act or one person or one organization who is going to stop this maddness. It is going to take the work of many, the united efforts of many, the chipping away of many, to make a difference. This is just one way of trying to help make a dent in this mess.

[Anonymous]

I really don't see how you can have a respected, published survey with you being anonymous and the people surveyed being anonymous. You want my name, I'll give it to you, I will back what I say with my real name and address. Please excuse me if I am incorrect, but I don't think this is what is meant by a "double-blind" study...

[Anonymous]

Yes, we do need names of the people responding to the survey. I should have put that as number 1, thank you for pointing it out.

We are still in the process of seeking out psychologists who will be willing to publish the data for us, we think we've found some interested parties.

[Anonymous]

Who is "we" who is working with psychologists at a university? Take a basic statistics class at that university of yours. There's protocol, there's logic, you can't get respected, solid stats from anonymous internet posters, it's a skewed and "biased" sub-population, although our bias against behavior modification schools happens to be correct, intelligent and healthy. You would have to, I believe, get enrollment lists and mail every single person who attended a given school a survey, and try again if they did not respond. That there is basic procedure, correct me if I'm wrong if we have any professional or degreed statisticians around here.

Now, you could write something compelling from the answers people give here, but it would not even be up to journalistic standards to use anonymous postings on an internet forum, you can't even see IP addresses to verify that posts are coming from different people. You don't know, in the journalistic sense of having any verified identity and history on any respondents, that the posts are from actual program survivors.

Maybe your intentions are as you say they are. But at the same time I'm irritated that you would treat program survivors with such disrespect that you would ask them for potentially identifying information when you yourself won't give any. At least don't hype this survey to be something it could not possibly be.

I'll back that opinion with my name in a PM and you can verify with the webmistress here that I am a distinct individual, and I can verify any statements regarding my incarceration in Straight with paper documents and/or references for your journalistic needs there.

Don't take my rash language personally. PM me at ex-prisoner for my verifiable information once you give me your verifiable information. No hard feelings, you're probably a program survivor who suffers paranoia for good reason, or someone who's job or personal security is at risk. These cults can get violent and retaliatory, I would not dismiss those fears outright. I just have to point out to people some academic facts here. Correct me or else correct your stated purposes and the actual possibilities with this "survey".

That being said - and my main point really is to stand behind what you are doing with your identity and not misstate the possible uses of the completed "survey" so we can all feel comfortable that things are above-board and ethical in your dealings here with people who were treated very unethically in these programs, to say least - you have a decent start with the questions there.

[Anonymous]

Alright, let's regroup. My intentions are very good and I do have legitimate people who are willing to help work on this. When I first posted this questionnaire I didn't think about the fact that, as you are saying here, there is a protocol that must be followed for the survey to be valid.

So I'm researching that right now. You seem to know quite a bit, and that's great, all help is needed. What I would like to do is to gather data that can actually be used to the good of the cause. I know it is a missing link and a very important piece therapists and others are needing and missing.

Having said that, I am very open to working with others willing to help give me the information I need to get this underway. I have my very legitimate and good reasons for not letting my identity be known. I hope we can leave it at that, I would think that many of you would understand the position I'm in.

So, I'm researching this and will find out what we really need to do to make this a legitimate survey. No, I don't like the idea of survivors putting their names out here who are not comfortable doing so.

I am looking into an online survey. What do you think about those? Would they be legitimate if people provided their contact information, and that information went only to those who are conducting the survey? It seems to me it would be next to impossible for us to get addresses to enough people who survived the programs so that we could send the surveys to them. Correct me if I'm wrong. I think online there would be more of a chance that people would participate.

What about something like this? http://www.keysurvey.com/?source=Overtu ... C=standard

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

ps - It would be nice if people would come together here to give their advice and knowledge about how we could go about conducting a legitimate survey rather than start bashing people who are trying to do something good for the cause. This is the reason nothing ever gets done. People try and are put down for their efforts. Not everyone is the bad guy, sometimes it's just a matter of helping out and working together. There is nothing daunting or scary about asking for help on how to conduct a good, solid, legitimate survey. That is all I'm asking for now, and then we can go from there. My hope is that someone will have knowledge about the topic and that we can get good advice here. The online survey is the best idea because I feel it is the most realistic way it will happen.

Remember, there are "trolls" out there who will want to start something here, because they are not going to like the idea of a survey. If I start getting negative feedback I'm going to assume it's coming from them and will ignore it. I am looking for good, positive, solid feedback from those of you who know and care. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

that's cool, i'm just feeling protective of program survivors here. look, maybe you should work with a third party, an established non-profit or child-interest group. then we know the survey results are going to a legit operation. you can explain to them that you need to stay behind the scenes because of potential threats to your safety. if you can understand, it simply is not wise to send personal identifying information to unknown parties. i don't know if my concern is warranted that the lawsuit against WWASPS is going on, and we should watch out for impostors. my suggestion of a trusted, respected third party would solve this issue. they would know who you are and verify what your intentions are.

i have not taken stats, i just know what i've heard on the streets. we need someone who knows how to set up this kind of thing. i agree with your idea and have been thinking it would be good to have something like this, studies and surveys and whatnot cabinets made by people who practiced craftwork.

[Withdraw]

[ This Message was edited by: Withdraw on 2005-09-22 23:08 ]

[Anonymous]

OK, I think we're onto something here. I'm the one who started this thread. I am definitely going to look into doing this the proper way with the proper people so that survivors will feel safe in participating.

I in no way want to ever cause fear or anxiety in survivors. They've suffered enough. I just want to do something that I think would be useful and helpful. I'll keep working on it. If anyone has suggestions, please pass them on.

If I could I'd reveal who I am. I know you all understand why I can't. It's very frustrating at times, but it's the reality we have to live with. Thank you for your feedback and suggestions.

[Anonymous]

I believe the partial diagnosos would be post traumatic stress disorder

[Anonymous]

major depression