Title
Attachment to God and psychological well-being: Shame, guilt, and self-compassion as mediators
Date of Award
Spring 2015
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Educational Studies
First Advisor
M. Carole Pistole
Committee Chair
M. Carole Pistole
Committee Member 1
Eric Deemer
Committee Member 2
Yukiko Maeda
Committee Member 3
Susan Prieto-Welch
Abstract
In this study, I used attachment theory to examine individual differences in people's relationships with God or their Higher Power and the influence of these relationships on shame, guilt, self-compassion, and overall psychological well-being. H1 was that shame, guilt, and self-compassion fully mediate the relatedness of anxious attachment to God and psychological well-being. H2 was that shame, guilt, and self-compassion fully mediate the relatedness of avoidant attachment to God and psychological well-being. Young adults (N = 163) of diverse religious backgrounds from a large Midwestern university completed demographic questions and four scales: (a) The Attachment to God Inventory (AGI; Beck & McDonald, 2004); (b) Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 (TOSCA-3; Tangney & Dearing, 2003); (c) The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003a); and (d) The Scales of Psychological Well-being (SPWB; Ryff, 1989). To examine the two overarching hypotheses, I conducted two mediation analyses, one for anxious attachment and one for avoidant attachment, using a nonparametric bootstrapping procedure (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Both H1 and H2 were partially supported in that the overall mediation was partial. That is, shame, guilt, and self-compassion accounted for some, but not all, of the relatedness between anxious (H1) and avoidant (H2) attachment to God and psychological well-being. Results indicate that shame, guilt, and self-compassion are some of the pathways through which attachment to God influences psychological well-being. I discuss limitations of the study as well as the implications for research and practice.
Recommended Citation
Varghese, Mary Elizabeth, "Attachment to God and psychological well-being: Shame, guilt, and self-compassion as mediators" (2015). Open Access Dissertations. 578.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/578