I'd say both
Do JW's attract the mentally ill, or do their beliefs cause mental illness?
by gaiagirl 31 Replies latest jw friends
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steve2
The "loudest" voice claiming that the Watchtower causes mental illness was/is Jerry Bergman, a psychologist, presumably with a PhD or equivalent and a one-time JW.
Unfortunately, as rich and detailed as Bergman's oft-quoted account is, he entertains no hypothesis other than the big, bad Watchtower causes mental illness. He keeps repeating that JWs have a higher incidence of mental illness than the general population. His hypothesis is attractive to people who are looking for any kind of evidence against the Watchtower. Unfortunately, he himself has conducted no scientifically-designed study of the JWs and his hypothesis is completely untested.