[4] IBLP started promoting Basic Youth Conflicts seminars in areas around the United States and other nations, which according to its own history, saw attendances of up to 20,000 individuals during the 1970s.

[7] In 2008 the rise to celebrity status of one group of IBLP followers, the Duggar family, through the TLC series 17 Kids and Counting and its subsequent shows, brought a new wave of interest in the organization and its teachings.

[8] From 2009 to 2012, the Institute in Basic Life Principles began a steady decline, losing money, assets, and greatly reducing the number of annual seminars it conducted, as the public became increasingly aware of controversy (more specifically, allegations of sexual misconduct) associated with Bill Gothard, the then president of the organization.

In addition to adherence to the Bible and their idea of Christian ideals, the IBLP considers men, in particular the patriarch of a family, to be superior, whereas women are expected to be more submissive to the head of the house, whether that be their father or husband.

Children are taught to obey God's message and the rules of their fathers, and that violation of this leads to bad consequences, such as contracting a cold or other sickness.

[14][11][15] Within marriage, IBLP teaches that God "grants spouses full access to each other's bodies for sexual gratification" and warns against "resistance or indifference to a husband's need for physical intimacy".

[18][19] Inwardly, married women are admonished to nurture a meek and quiet spirit, while outwardly maintaining beauty, remaining "well-groomed", and striving to dress to "please their husbands".

One of the more interesting aspects of MTIA was Gothard's heavy emphasis on the issue of "constipation", leading Don Veniot (leader of Midwest Christian Outreach) to ask "[w]ill God's judgment be thwarted by a regular helping of shredded wheat every morning?

"[25] Sometime subsequent to 2002 (when Veniot's book was published), IBLP discontinued MTIA and it is no longer shown on their website, nor are the "Basic Care Bulletins" offered for sale.

However, as of August 2023, the only United States facilities shown are the organization's headquarters in Texas, a retreat center on 3,000 acres near Watersmeet, Michigan,[4] and a post office box in Conway, Arkansas for its prison ministry.

[27] Their former headquarters was a 223-acre compound in Hinsdale, the hometown of Gothard (though it would prominently feature its "Box One, Oak Brook, Illinois" mailing address on its promotional materials).

In the 1980s and 1990s IBLP repeatedly proposed expansions of their presence in Hinsdale with office buildings, dozens of houses, and a hotel but was unable to do so due to community opposition.

[4][28][29] Don Veinot, president of Midwest Christian Outreach, says that the charismatic leader, authoritarian control, isolation of members, severe punishments, and demand for absolute and blind loyalty add up to IBLP being "cult-like".

[32] On October 20, 2015, a civil lawsuit alleging a sex-abuse cover-up involving several minors was filed in DuPage County, Illinois against IBLP and its board of directors.

Gretchen Wilkinson et al. vs. Institute in Basic Life Principles and William W. Gothard Jr. was brought on behalf of five female plaintiffs in order to "seek redress and damages for personal injuries based on the negligent and willful and wanton acts and omissions of the defendants with regard to sexual abuse and sexual harassment and similar allegations of malfeasance suffered by the plaintiffs.

"[33] "Besides monetary damages, they have asked a DuPage County judge to bar IBLP leaders from alleged plans to liquidate resources estimated at more than $100 million while they close the institute's headquarters near Oak Brook and relocate to Texas, the lawsuit states.

"[34] Five additional accusers joined the suit in January 2016, and even more in February 2016, bringing the grand total of complainants to sixteen women and two men.

Amazon Prime Video debuted the limited series Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets in June 2023.