I.The Invitation
In August 1981, Straight, Inc.’s directors invited two outsiders to examine the program: Dr. Andrew I. Malcolm, a Canadian psychiatrist who had studied cults, “brainwashing” and intensive group methods (he wrote The Tyranny of the Group, 1973), and his wife, Barbara Malcolm.
Straight’s directors said the Malcolms were likely to “submit an objective and unbiased report.”
Arrived: August 20, 1981 · Facility: St. Petersburg, Florida, a single site · Time on site: about six days · Report completed: September 5, 1981 · Length: 31 pages, never formally published
II.The Five Questions
The Malcolms set out to answer five questions: 1. Does Straight brainwash? 2. Is it sadistic? 3. Is it a cult? 4. Does it produce “zombies”? 5. Can it be transplanted to other cities?
Their answers were: no, no, no, no — and yes.
The question
Their answer
Does Straight brainwash?
No
Is it sadistic?
No
Is it a cult?
No
Does it produce “zombies”?
No
Can it be transplanted to other cities?
Yes
Four noes, one yes — as the report answered them in 1981
III.What the Report Saw
The report gave a strongly favorable, defensive account of Straight’s methods:
The report — finding 01
Peer confrontation (“raps”) was described as necessary to break through a young person’s denial.
The report — finding 02
Isolation from friends, music and the “drug culture” was presented as protective.
The report — finding 03
Physical restraint, including holding newcomers by the belt loop, was described as used only when needed and temporary. The report did flag belt-looping and abuse of power as risks to watch for.
The report — finding 04
Confession, in which teens had to admit drug use and wrongdoing in front of the group, was framed as part of restoring a “drug-free mind” and rebuilding the family.
It found no evidence of physical or psychological harm, rights violations or cult behavior. It called the program rational, family-centered and non-profit, and recommended it as a model for the nation. Its only criticisms were minor suggestions, such as broader outreach and continued monitoring.
“It does not do any damage to these children to be admitted to Straight for a period of a few weeks or months.”
IV.What the Report Left Out
It was six days at one facility. The Malcolms examined a single site, at a time Straight’s directors chose.
Its author knew the risks. Andrew Malcolm’s own earlier work warned about the dangers of intensive group pressure. Historian Marcus Chatfield, who found the report in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, notes that those concerns about psychiatric casualties don’t appear in it.
It became a sales document. Straight used the report in a fundraising package seeking $18.2 million to open 26 new facilities between 1982 and 1986.
- December 26, 1981the Malcolms sent Straight an endorsement letter: “We suspect that money is going to be forthcoming, from diverse sources.”
- January 15, 1982Straight founder Mel Sembler forwarded the letter to Carlton Turner, the White House drug-policy adviser.
- April 3, 1982the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the study had “cleared Straight of brainwashing.”
- October 28, 1982Straight opened its Springfield, Virginia center.
The report didn’t just describe Straight. It helped sell Straight to Washington.
V.What Survivors Say
The same themes come up again and again, from 1976 to 1993:
Confinement
Newcomers couldn’t leave. Kids were locked into “host homes” at night, with windows and doors secured.
Read the record →Restraint
Being held, pinned or sat on by other teenagers, sometimes for hours.
Read the record →“Motivating” and spit therapy
Screaming, nose to nose, often in lines of peers, until the kid in the chair broke.
Read the record →Forced confession
Repeating, and often exaggerating, stories of drug use and past behavior to prove “honesty.”
Read the record →Isolation
No school, no outside friends, no unmonitored phone calls, mail or music, sometimes for months or years.
Total control
Escorts to the bathroom, belt-loop holds, permission needed to speak, eat or move.
Read the record →Families turned against kids
Parents trained to distrust their own children and report on them.
Read the record →The long tail
Decades of PTSD and C-PTSD, hypervigilance, broken families, and survivors who spend years unlearning the program.
Read the record →
Six days for the experts. Months and years for the children inside.
VI.The Record That Followed
February 1982
the ACLU sues Straight’s Atlanta center for false imprisonment and abuse.
December 1982
a Fairfax, Virginia man, Fred Collins, accuses Straight of brainwashing. A class-action suit in Florida alleges patient abuse.
May 1983
a Virginia jury finds Straight falsely imprisoned Collins and awards him $220,000. The verdict is upheld on appeal in November 1984.
September 1990
Virginia cites the Springfield center for failing to report alleged abuse.
July 30, 1991
the Springfield center closes.
1993
Straight, Inc. closes its last centers.
The Bottom Line
The report, 1981
The Malcolm report asked whether Straight was brainwashing children, and answered no.
The survivors
The people who were there as children have been answering that question ever since, and their answer is different.
One report. Six days. Decades of testimony. Seventeen years.
Sources
- Marcus Chatfield, “The State of the Art: The Malcolms’ Examination of Straight, Incorporated,” Parts 1–4 and Timeline Part 1 · Timeline · Points: The Blog of the Alcohol & Drugs History Society
- An Examination of Straight Incorporated (1981), Carlton Turner collection, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
- Washington Post coverage of the Collins case, 1982–1984
- Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1991
- Survivor archives at survivingstraightinc.com · unsilenced.org
My Story
