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Internal working models informed by early attachment experiences play a pivotal role in the development of attachment relationships throughout life (Bowlby, 1969)- While attachment has been examined in several domains, including familial and romantic relationships (e.g., Hazan & Shaver, 1987), more recent work has investigated the usefulness of conceptualizing God as an attachment figure (e.g., Granqvist, 1998; Kirkpatrick, 2005). Church family, defined as those individuals with whom a fellow believer attends church, has not been examined within a specific attachment context. The primary purpose of these two studies was to investigate the possible extension of attachment theory to include the Christian believer's attachment to their church family. A secondary purpose was to determine what relationship, if any, exists among attachment to church family, attachment to God and well-being. In the first study, 117 individuals from local Protestant churches completed self-report measures of attachment to God and church family as well as spiritual and psychological well-being. In the second study, 185 participants from local Baptist churches completed questionnaire packages that included measures of attachment and emotional well-being. Results offered preliminary support for the usefulness of conceptualizing church family as an attachment process. Further research, examining the differences between general social support and attachment processes, is needed.
Over four decades have passed since Bowlby's seminal work on attachment theory and internal working models. According to Bowlby (1969), internal working models developed out of early attachment experiences and were central to the development and experience of attachment relationships throughout one's life. Hazan & Shaver (1987) extended Bowlby's theories to include attachment in romantic relationships. Further developments in attachment theory led to the examination of God as an attachment figure (see Granqvist, Mikulincer & Shaver, 2010). Whereas empirical links among various domains of attachment and well-being have been established (e.g., Ellison, Bradshaw, Kuyel, & Marcum, 2012), there is a dearth of research in regard to the relationship among the specific constructs of attachment to God and attachment to church family (i.e., the individuals with whom a fellow believer attends church) and their ability to predict wellbeing. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was two-fold: 1) to investigate the possible extension of attachment theory to include attachment to church family and 2) to examine individual differences in the attachment...