Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The present study attempted to find empirical connections between the attachment, object-relations, and triangular love perspectives as they apply to relationship with God. Attachment to God and object-relations perspectives on God have already been extensively investigated in the literature. In this study, it was observed that the triangular love model (Sternberg, 1986) could also be applied to relationship with God. Using established instruments from each literature—attachment, object-relations, triangular love—it was observed that two factors best explained the correlations among these instruments. The first factor, “Communion,” describes the degree of intimacy, closeness, dependency, and trust in the God-relationship. The second factor, “Complaint,” describes the degree of disappointment and/or frustration involved in the God-relationship. Because these two factors—Communion and Complaint—are orthogonal, it is argued that the commingling of Communion and Complaint in the God-relationship is one feature that can imbue this relationship with an emotional dynamic similar to that observed in human love relationships.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ainsworth

M. D. S.

(1985). Attachment across the lifespan. Bulletin of the New York

Academy of Medicine, 61, 792–812.

Ainsworth

M. D. S.

, Blehar

M. C.

, Waters

, & Wall

(1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Bartholomew

, & Horowitz

L. M.

(1991). Attachment styles in young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244.

Beck

, & McDonald

(2004). Attachment to God: The attachment to God inventory, tests of working model correspondence, and an exploration of faith group differences. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 32, 92–103.

Bowlby

(1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.

Bowlby

(1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation: Anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books.

Bowlby

(1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss. New York: Basic Books.

Brennan

K. A.

, Clark

C. L.

, & Shaver

P. R.

(1998). Self-report measures of adult romantic attachment. An integrative overview. In Simpson

J. A.

, & Rholes

W. S.

(Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships. New York: Guilford Press.

10.

Granqvist

(1998). Religiousness and perceived childhood attachment: On the question of compensation or correspondence. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37, 350–367.

11.

Hall

T. W.

, Brokaw

B. F.

, Edwards

K. J.

, & Pike

P. L.

(1998). An empirical exploration of psychoanalysis and religion: Spiritual maturity and object relations development. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37, 302–313.

12.

Hall

T. W.

, & Edwards

K. J.

(1996). The initial development and factor analysis of the spiritual assessment inventory. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 24, 233–246.

13.

Hall

T. W.

, & Edwards

K. J.

(2002). The spiritual assessment inventory: A theistic model and measure for assessing spiritual development. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41, 341–357.

14.

Hazan

, & Shaver

(1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524.

15.

Hazan

, & Shaver

(1990). Love and work: An attachment-theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 270–280.

16.

Hill

P. C.

, & Hall

T. W.

(2002). Relational schemas in processing one's image of God and self. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 21, 365–373.

17.

Kirkpatrick

L. A.

(1997). A longitudinal study of changes in religious belief and behavior as a function of individual differences in adult attachment style. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36, 207–217.

18.

Kirkpatrick

L. A.

(1998). God as a substitute attachment figure: A longitudinal study of adult attachment style and religious change in college students. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 961–973.

19.

Kirkpatrick

L. A.

(1999). Attachment and religious representations and behavior. In Cassidy

, & Shaver

P. R.

(Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 803–822). New York: Guilford Press.

20.

Kirkpatrick

L. A.

, & Shaver

P. R.

(1990). Attachment theory and religion: Childhood attachments, religious beliefs, and conversion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 29, 315–334.

21.

Kirkpatrick

L. A.

, & Shaver

P. R.

(1992). An attachment-theoretical approach to romantic love and religious belief. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 266–275.

22.

McDonald

, Beck

, Allison

, & Norsworthy

(2005). Attachment to God and Parents: Testing the correspondence vs. compensation hypotheses. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 24, 21–28.

23.

Rowatt

W. C.

, & Kirkpatrck

L. A.

(2002). Two dimensions of attachment to God and their relation to affect, religiosity, and personality constructs. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41, 637–651.

24.

Simpson

J. A.

, & Rholes

W. S.

(Eds.). (1998). Attachment theory and close relationships. New York: Guilford Press.

25.

Sternberg

R. J.

(1986). The triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93, 119–135.

26.

Sternberg

R. J.

(1988). Triangulating love. In Sternberg

R.J.

, & Barnes

M.L.

(Eds.), The psychology of love (pp. 119–138). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

27.

Sternberg

R. J.

(1997). Construct validation of a triangular love scale. European Journal of Social Psychology, 27, 313–335.

28.

TenElshof

J. K.

, & Furrow

J. L.

(2000). The role of secure attachment in predicting spiritual maturity of students at a conservative seminary. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 28, 99–108.

Communion and Complaint: Attachment,Object-Relations,and Triangular Love Perspectives on Relationship with God

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References