Attachment to God: Measurement and dynamics

Abstract

The present study was conducted to explore the attachment to God construct. A new measure of this construct was developed using the conceptual foundations of attachment theory, comprising four aspects (God as a safe haven, God as a secure base for exploration, seeking/maintaining proximity to God, and responding to separation from God). This measure was examined in terms of its internal properties as well as subjected to validation assessments. In terms of internal properties, the measure demonstrated good item and scale characteristics. Results indicated that God attachment was a unitary construct, even with its different aspects. In terms of validation, God attachment was distinguished from religious belief and practice, and also from father and mother attachments. In terms of links with particular correlates, attachment to God provided for incremental validity (over and above attachment to father and to mother) for optimism.