Disorganized attachment, absorption, and new age spirituality: a mediational model

Abstract

In this paper, we present a theoretical model and an empirical review linking disorganized attachment with New Age spiritual beliefs and activities via a proposed mediator; the propensity to enter altered states of consciousness (absorption/dissociation). Utilizing a prospective longitudinal design (N = 62), an empirical test of the mediational model is also provided for illustrational purposes. More specifically, we tested if unresolved/disorganized (U/d) attachment scores, as identified via the Adult Attachment Interview at the first assessment point, predicted New Age spirituality 3 years later, and whether this link was mediated by absorption. Results supported the mediational model, although the bivariate relation between U/d attachment and New Age spirituality was of modest strength. The discussion focuses on the general implications, clinical as well as non-clinical, of the proposed model. Finally, we argue that time is now ripe for attachment researchers to address additional non-pathological sequelae of disorganized attachment and the related propensity to experience altered states of consciousness.

Keywords:

• disorganized attachment
• Adult Attachment Interview
• absorption
• dissociation
• New Age
• spirituality
• religion

Acknowledgements

The research reported herein was supported by a Grant (Dnr 1999-0507:01,02) from the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation. Our gratitude to Tord Ivarsson and Anders G. Broberg for assistance with Adult Attachment Interview coding.

Notes

1. It is beyond the scope of this paper to disentangle the validity of New Age metaphysics. Labelling a spiritual experience as dissociative can, in other words, not be taken as a dismissal, let alone an affirmation, of any metaphysical interpretation of that experience. To do so would be to fall prey to a genetic fallacy (Cohen, 1934).

2. One-tailed tests were used to test the bivariate correlations as well as mediation, for three reasons. First, on theoretical grounds, we had made a priori predictions about the direction of associations. Second, previous research had supported each of the bivariate predictions. Third, there was no reason to expect strong relations between U/d attachment and the other phenomena. Using a limited sample size in conjunction with two-tailed tests would therefore risk producing statistical Type II errors (i.e., failing to detect modest but true relations).

3. The following four items were excluded from the absorption scale (resemblances with New Age spirituality are noted in parentheses): “I can often sense the presence of another person before I actually see or hear him/her” and “I often know what someone is going to say before he or she says it” (cf. precognition); “Things that seem meaningless to others often make sense to me” (cf. the belief in an underlying meaning behind every occurrence); and “At times I feel the presence of someone who is not physically there” (cf. spiritualism).

4. This is not to encourage readers to seek out non-efficacious treatments. Efficacious treatments are of course likely to produce even stronger effects for most people (i.e., inclusive of but not limited to the placebo effect). However, if the efficacious treatment is delivered to New Age clients by a practitioner whose world-view clashes with those of the clients', whereas the non-efficacious treatment is delivered by a New Age entrepreneur, it is currently an open question which of the two that is likely to be most helpful.

5. Incidentally, Weiss (1973) proposed that a core constituent of a certain form of loneliness (“emotional isolation”) is the perceived absence of a satisfying emotional bond with an attachment figure in the individual's life. Hence, the positive link between New Age spirituality and loneliness may conform to the speculation that many people who endorse New Age spirituality tend to harbour negative models of others (e.g., as not satisfying).