Attachment and Spiritual Maturity 73
The measure of spiritual maturity
d • . use m this study, seemed the best measure
available for the purpose of this study In the
f H ·
• ·
•
•
area o onzontal spmtual matunty,
Benson et al. (1993) was interested in an active s · ·tual · l mvo vement with others m the community and th e world rather than an actual loving attachment to others. Because this study was measuring attachmen~ styles in relationship to spiritual maturity, a measure of · · pm spiritual maturity that reflected attachment to others would have served as a better measure of spiritual maturity. Conceptual refinement of this measure could be done or ' there may be a desire to develop your own measure.
Future Research
Childhood Attachment
Further research needs to explore the relationship of paternal parenting to adult
attachment and to faith maturity. This study suggested that paternal influence was greater than maternal in relationship to both adult attachment and horizontal faith maturity. Exploration as to how paternal and maternal relationships with children differ and what aspects are carried over into adult attachments needs to be considered. Questions need to be explored concerning the divergent motivations resulting from
paternal overprotection and its influence on Horizontal Faith Maturity. Further studies
should pursue clarifying these motivations to determine if they are anxiety and dependency driven. What does the delicate balance of overprotection and care look like in terms ofmaternal and paternal behavior needs to be explained. Understanding would then bring clarity to how those actions that maintain balance relate to the horizontal faith
maturity of serving others.
Adult Attachment This study calls attention to adult relationship processes. This is a move away from the overly deterministic models of personality, to research the processes of change in adult relationships without minimizing the importance of childhood attachments.
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