Attachment to God and Psychological Distress: Evidence of a Curvilinear Relationship

Abstract

Previous religion/spirituality (R/S) research on attachment to God and mental well-being has relied entirely on linear models. Scholars, however, have called for more nuanced analysis of religious beliefs and dispositions relative to mental health, and several studies using a nonlinear approach have yielded fruitful results with a handful of R/S predictors. Relying on national data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey, this study investigates potential nonlinear associations between attachment to God and psychological distress by fitting curvilinear models of avoidant attachment to God and multiple measures of general and psychological distress. For conceptual reasons, linear models of anxious attachment are also employed. Results reveal a nonlinear relationship between avoidant/secure attachment and distress and a deleterious linear relationship between anxious attachment to God and distress. This supports the overall hypothesis that anxiety or a lack of certainty about one's relationship with the divine represents a threat to psychological well-being.

Divine Relations as a Basis of Subjective Social Status During Later‐Life: Direct and Moderating Effects

“…From the perspective of attachment theory, the belief in divine support may reflect the perception that God is a “secure base” (Bradshaw, Ellison, and Marcum 2010; Kirkpatrick 2005). It has been noted that God may represent the “ultimate attachment figure” (Henderson and Kent 2022:163), in which base attachment to this powerful other provides a salient source of one's worth that is likely to contribute to individual understandings of rankings in the secular order of society. As Ellison (1993:1030) describes, the belief that one is “special because he/she is created by God, who has unconditional positive regard for every person fosters a symbolic connection with a divine other and enhances positive reflected appraisals about the self.” Through positive relationships with a powerful other, people may see themselves in higher standing, thereby providing a positive force on one's SSS.…”