There is a spiritual component. Think "Monsters Inc", where extra-dimensional entities feed off emotional energy from this world. As in the movie, and as shown by the history of the occult, the energy of children is especially prized.

This is why the primary effect is child abuse. Teaching them they are diseased, preventing them from seeing other children and family, making them go through humiliating rituals, and of course, injecting them with drugs. Having the abuse inflected by family members and authority figures, who deny that it is abuse.

Do enough of this abuse and people break into mental pieces. This process is referred to as trauma based mind control. The person can have multiple versions of reality, which a control can flip through like pages in a book. These are typically seeded at a young age by mass media. The spiritual energy of this person is available for the entities to harvest.

There is a spiritual component. Think "Monsters Inc", where extra-dimensional entities feed off emotional energy from this world. As in the movie, and as shown by the history of the occult, the energy of children is especially prized.

This is why the primary effect is child abuse. Teaching them they are diseased, preventing them from seeing other children and family, making them go through humiliating rituals, and of course, injecting them with drugs. Having the abuse inflected by family members and authority figures, who deny that it is abuse.

Do enough of this abuse and people break into mental pieces. This process is referred to as trauma based mind control. The person can have multiple versions of reality, which a control can flip through like pages in a book. The spiritual energy of this person is available for the entities to harvest.