The God Attachment Interview Schedule : implicit and explicit assessment of attachment to God

Set within an attachment theory developmental perspective, the thesis explored attachment to God as a psychological construct, both theoretical and as experienced within individual Christians’ relationships with God. The dual focus of the interview process, conducted between 31 predominantly Australian born individuals, was to identify 1/ whether individual Christians experienced God functioning as an activity as an attachment figure, and 2/ whether aspects of their relationship with God were able to be identified as attachment experiences. Three types of analyses were conducted. Findings suggested that the ‘attachment to God’ construct was more complex than previously understood, suggestive of an underlying developmental progression. Findings are discussed in relation to debates concerning ‘implicit’ versus ‘explicit’ features of attachment to God, and developmental features including ‘correspondence’ and ‘compensatory’ hypotheses. ACCESS RESTRICTION: ABSTRACT ONL