The relationship of perceived interpersonal support and spiritual support to attachment style and adjustment in college students

This study examined the importance of family support and nonsupport, friend support and nonsupport, God support and nonsupport, and attachment in the context of life stress. It also analyzed the underlying factor content of the perceived support and nonsupport construct as measured by a relatively new support and nonsupport scale. One hundred and three undergraduates completed a questionnaire packet containing measures of family, friend and spiritual support and nonsupport, an assessment of well-being and distress, and an assessment of attachment style. It was hypothesized that God support would be positively related to family support, friend support, secure attachment, and well-being, and negatively related to distress. Similarly, it was hypothesized that God nonsupport would be positively related to family nonsupport, friend nonsupport, insecure attachment and distress, and negatively related to well-being. The predictive power of each support, nonsupport, and attachment variable also was explored. Finally, the factor make up of the support and nonsupport construct was investigated. Results of correlational analyses supported the hypothesized relationships between God support and nonsupport and other variables. Significant findings within regression analyses utilizing support and nonsupport variables were that God support best predicted well-being and composite nonsupport best predicted distress. When attachment was included in regression analyses together with support and nonsupport variables, attachment became the best predictor of well-being, while attachment, family support and family nonsupport were the best predictors of distress. Additionally, attachment was found to mediate the relationships of nonsupport to well-being and composite support to well-being and distress. Factor analysis of support and nonsupport scales using combined data from a previous study indicated that the support and nonsupport construct as measured by this scale consisted of one factor with support and nonsupport loading in opposite directions