![Sample our Behavioral Sciences journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110801/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Behavioral-Sciences.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Relationships between religiousness and psychological health are well established. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether perceived relationship with God (i.e., attachment to God) or how people view God (i.e., image of God) account for variation in psychological distress and well-being. Statistical relationships between two attachment to God dimensions (avoidance, anxiety), two dimensions of God image (forgiving, wrathful), and general psychological well-being were investigated in a convenience sample (Study 1) and nationally representative sample (Study 2) of American adults who expressed belief in God or a higher power. In both studies, secure attachment to God (i.e., lower avoidance, lower anxiety) and religious service attendance were positively correlated with self-reported psychological well-being. Hierarchical regressions indicated that attachment to God dimensions account for unique variability in reported mental health even after religious service attendance, prayer frequency, God image and demographic variables were statistically controlled. Negligible associations were found between images of God as forgiving or wrathful and psychological well-being. Perceived relationship with God appears to be an important factor in the connection between religiousness and psychological health.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to David Njus for his constructive feedback on a previous version of this article.
Notes
1 Regression analyses were run using the Anxiety and Avoidance ATG dimensions to predict psychological distress in the full sample (n = 209) and smaller sample of those certain about their belief in God (n = 161). Anxious ATG predicted psychological distress in the sample that included all participants (n = 209: β = .19, p = .006) and among those who were more certain of their belief in God (n = 161: β = .21, p = .010). The Avoidance ATG dimension trended toward predicting psychological distress (β = .24, p = .054) in the full sample (n = 209) and was a moderately strong predictor of psychological distress in the sample of those more certain about their belief in God (n = 161, β = .35, p = .005).