Attachment to God and Perceived Childhood Attachment in an Iranian Sample: An Investigation

The present study investigated parents’ religiosity, perceived childhood attachment to parents in Muslim Iranian adult subjects and the reported attachment to God. The relationship between "sudden religious conversion" and attachment style to parents was also investigated. The sample consisted of 405 university students. Results showed that subjects who had a history of secure attachment style to parents also reported a secure attachment style to God and those whose attachment style to parents was insecure reported an insecure attachment to God. However, this relationship was found to be true only when parents’ religiosity was reported to be high. This indicates a higher congruence between parents’ religiosity and respondents’ attachment to God in the secure groups and thus providing support for the correspondence hypothesis. When parents’ religiosity was low, a opposite effect was observed. Subjects whose attachment style to parents was insecure reported secure attachment to God and those whose attachment style to parents was secure, reported insecure attachment to God. Results of the present study also showed that subjects who had experienced sudden change in religious beliefs, reported ambivalent and avoidant attachment styles to parents. However, this relationship was found to be true only when parents’ religiosity was reported to be low.