The annual ICSA International Conference brings together researchers, health professionals, service providers, and survivors and their families from around the world to engage in open dialogue on the most pressing themes around cultic studies. The 2026 conference explores the theme: Expanding the scope of coercive control: Understanding abusive dynamics and their impacts across interpersonal, institutional, and cultic contexts. Log in to access the conference’s on-demand presentations and join live sessions at their scheduled times.
Published date
27.06.2026
This presentation examines the relationship between malignant personality disorders and high-control systems of belief, drawing on both personal experience and emerging scholarship. Joyana Santini explores how narcissistic and antisocial personality traits may be reinforced within coercive environments and identifies a significant gap in current research.