Attachment and Spiritual Maturity 59
Chapter Five
Discussion Discussion of Results
This study explored the relationships between measures of adult and child attachment and dimensions of spiritual maturity. This empirical study of seminary
students sought to confirm a relationship between secure adult attachment and spiritual
maturity. This chapter is organized around findings which relate to the seven
hypotheses. These findings are summarized, explained, and examined for convergence or divergence with the existing literature. Findings are proposed, implications are made, future research and conclusions are suggested.
Validity of the Parental Bonding Instrument as a Measure of Childhood Attachment
There is little consensus regarding the development of secondary attachments.
The literature does not provide extensive support for the role ofother adult caregivers in the development or maintenance of a secure base. This study examines the role of both mothers and fathers and their impact on a secure base. The PBI was used to assess both parents.
There are several reasons why the PBI is a better indicator of childhood
attachment than Hazan and Shaver's forced choice measure for this study. First, the PBI
differentiates between parental care and parental overprotection with a subscale for each.
These two scales assess the two constructs underlying paternal bonding. Second, the PBI
assesses both parents on each of the two subscales. This is in contrast with Hazan and
Shaver's categories which assess maternal bonding only. Third, the PBI provides an
estimate with more variance than the three choices given by Hazan and Shaver. Fourth,
the PBI has less chance of response bias with the use of twenty-five questions rather than
the three options given by Hazan and Shaver. Therefore the PBI was used to measure
childhood attachment.
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