Granqvist, P., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (in press). Religious conversion
and perceived childhood attachment: A meta-analysis. International Journal
for the Psychology of Religion.
Abstract
In this paper we review previous work on religious conversions, relates
this work to attachment system dynamics, and present a meta-analysis of
results from 11 cross-national questionnaire studies (N =1465) that have
investigated links between religious conversions and perceived childhood
attachment history with parents. Two general hypotheses derived from attachment
theory were tested. Based on the compensation hypothesis, it was predicted
that sudden religious conversions would be associated on average with insecure
rather than secure attachment histories. Based on the two-level correspondence
hypothesis, it was predicted that non-sudden conversions and gradual religious
changes would be associated with a secure attachment history. Both predictions
were supported in the metaanalyses, with small to medium effect sizes.
It was concluded that attachment theory is a valuable framework for integrating
previous findings and spurring future research on religious conversions,
but that several methodological improvements should be made in future research. |