Attachment and Spiritual Maturity 67
most common misconceptions about attachment theory (Hazen & Shaver, 1994).
Bowlby (1973) and later Hazen and Shaver (1994) both state that working models of
attachment are gradually constructed out of experiences throughout infancy, childhood,
and adolescence. This study would include adulthood in this statement because of the
significant relationship reported between adult attachment and spiritual maturity.
Empirical studies have shown that adult internal working models of attachment are
sufficiently stable to warrant consideration and study (Hazen & Shaver, 1994).
If the control system for the internalized representational model is affect,
attachment theory has to consider more seriously the role adult affect has on the
internalized model. Adults today have experiences in relationships that may cause change
to the internalized model, (i.e. divorce, death, loss of a child, traumas, illness, therapy,
etc.). Infant attachment may have been easier to explain and the process more easily
understood, but it is time to explore in depth the effects of affect in adult attachment in
relationship to internal representational models formed in infancy.
Paternal Bonding to Secure Adult Attachment
Only two childhood attachment variables were reported as significant in this
study. Both variables had to do with father care. This study did find an ethnic influence
that implied the importance of the paternal role in childhood attachment. This role has
not been explored as much as the maternal role. Consequently, effects ofpaternal
attachment are less understood and need further exploration.
It is not clear from attachment theory how father' s role is seen by the child or
what effect it has on the bonding process leading to internalized models of attachment.
This study reported that overprotective fathers versus overprotective mothers were
related to Horizontal Spiritual Maturity. This suggests that paternal care may relate
differently to spiritual maturity than maternal care and the extent of differentiation needs
to be made clear. Further clarification is needed discerning what is necessary for a child to
receive from each parent in order to feel a safe haven in times of fear and stress and a
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