Attachment to God: Comparison to Parental Attachment Functioning as a Safe Haven

Attachment relationships enhance an individual’s ability to adjust during times of stress, serving as a protective factor to negative psychological outcomes. One function of an attachment figure is to provide a safe haven, or comfort and support during threat. Prior research indicates that God can function similarly to a parent as an attachment figure. However, there have been no empirical studies directly assessing attachment functions of God. The following study assessed how God functions as a safe haven in comparison to parental figures during times of stress, as well as during a control task. Three groups (parent primed attachment, God primed, superficial association primed) were assessed under a control condition as well as stress condition (six groups total). It was expected that levels of stress, as measured by heart rate and self-report, would be similar and lower in both parent and God groups in comparison to the superficial association group. This hypothesis was not supported. Possible limitations and implications of these findings are discussed