The Moderating Effect of Shame Proneness on Avoidant God Attachment and on Anxious God Attachment

This study’s focus was on examining both anxious and avoidant God attachment and the correlation of each to both positive and negative religious coping as moderated by shame proneness. Participants were 158 individuals ages 18 to 70 years across the United States who proclaim Christianity. They were assessed on their attachment relationship with God, religious coping strategies, and proneness to shame. Correlation analysis already established the relationship between God attachment and religious coping. Regression analysis revealed shame proneness as a moderator of the relationship between the two attachment styles and both positive and negative religious coping. This study had limitations and may be improved by considering additional constructs that could impact the relationship between the variables, including more participants from more diversified backgrounds, and changing the study design to a phenomenological study to capture the unique narrative of individuals who are prone to shame