Attachment to God Uniquely Predicts Variation in Well-Being Outcomes

Abstract

Prior research shows that one's relationship with God is often patterned on interpersonal attachment style. In other words, the expectations people have about the supportiveness of close others tend to color perceptions of God. Past research also shows that well-being corresponds with a more secure view of others in attachment relationships, both interpersonal and divine. This raises an important theoretical question: Are the associations between attachment to God and well-being due to the unique nature of that bond or are they merely due to the incidental overlap between human and divine attachment style? We predicted that having a more secure (i.e., less anxious and avoidant) attachment toward God would tend to predict better well-being, even after statistically controlling for interpersonal attachments. We found broad support for this prediction in two large samples over a wide range of well-being indicators. These data suggest that attachment to God uniquely fosters well-being.

Humility and Relational Spirituality as Predictors of Well-Being among Christian Seminary Students

“…This finding suggests that seminary students' abilities to be autonomous and to self-regulate emotions while remaining relationally flexible and connected to others are an important factor for their sense of well-being. However, although robust prior research supports the positive association between secure AtG (another important dimension of dwelling) and well-being (Keefer & Brown, 2018), AtG did not make an independent contribution to well-being in the present study. This is likely because there was very low variance in the sample on this measure, with most students reporting very secure attachment dynamics with God.…”

“…The first dimension of dwelling in this study, secure AtG (Granqvist & Kirkpatrick, 2016), is based on attachment theory and refers to a sense of being safe, accepted, loved, and cared about by God regardless of whether one meets expectations (see Ruffing et al, 2018). Research findings suggest that secure AtG can be a unique predictor of psychological health and well-being and provides resources for spiritual and emotional regulation during vulnerable times in ways that mitigate shame or helplessness (Keefer & Brown, 2018). Individuals’ attachment styles often are associated with their AtG (i.e., insecure attachment to parents predicts insecure AtG; Cassibba et al, 2013); however, despite this link, studies suggest that secure AtG can function as an independent and unique predictor of basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, relatedness, competence), meaning in life, optimism, and life satisfaction (Bradshaw & Kent, 2018; Keefer & Brown, 2018).…”

“…Research findings suggest that secure AtG can be a unique predictor of psychological health and well-being and provides resources for spiritual and emotional regulation during vulnerable times in ways that mitigate shame or helplessness (Keefer & Brown, 2018). Individuals’ attachment styles often are associated with their AtG (i.e., insecure attachment to parents predicts insecure AtG; Cassibba et al, 2013); however, despite this link, studies suggest that secure AtG can function as an independent and unique predictor of basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, relatedness, competence), meaning in life, optimism, and life satisfaction (Bradshaw & Kent, 2018; Keefer & Brown, 2018). In addition, secure AtG has been found to buffer the effects of stressful life events (Ellison et al, 2014).…”

“…In addition, secure AtG has been found to buffer the effects of stressful life events (Ellison et al, 2014). Conversely, insecure AtG is associated with increased psychological distress (Bradshaw et al, 2010), decreased levels of autonomy, personal control over one’s own life, self-competence, and social relatedness (Keefer & Brown, 2018), and lower humility (Jankowski et al, 2019; Jankowski & Sandage, 2014). These findings infer that secure AtG may be related to greater well-being.…”

Attachment Anxiety Mitigates the Well-Being Costs of Object Attachment

“…Independent analyses from these survey data were published in a paper testing relationships attachment to God and well-being (Keefer & Brown, 2018); But as that paper concerned completely unrelated research questions, data reanalysis is considered acceptable under APA guidelines so long as the secondary nature of the analysis is explicit (e.g., Fine & Kurdek, 1994) Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance Participants first completed the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures (ECR-RS; Fraley, Hefferman, Vicary, & Brumbaugh, 2011) to measure variation in attachment avoidance and anxiety. This measure includes four short questionnaires assessing attachment style across each of four important relationships: mother, father, romantic partner, and best friend.…”