The association between personality, attachment, psychological distress, church denomination and the god concept among a non-clinical sample

• Published in: Mental health, religion & culture religion & culture, 2005-06, Vol.8 (2), p.141-154
• Main Authors: Eurelings-Bontekoe, Elisabeth H. M., Hekman-Van Steeg, Janneke, Verschuur, Margot J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1367-4676; 1469-9737
• DOI: 10.1080/13674670412331304320

The association between personality, attachment, psychological distress, church denomination and the God concept was studied among a sample of 208 subjects from the normal population. Subjects were Christians, members of an Orthodox reformed church or the Pentecostal church. Negative feelings towards God were associated with a high level of harm avoidance, insecure attachment and a high level of psychological distress. Psychological distress mediated the association between personality and attachment variables and negative feelings towards God. Psychological distress and church denomination were the only two independent predictors of negative feelings towards God. Moreover, results showed that the Orthodox reformed church members hold a more negative concept of God than the Pentecostal church members do. Orthodox reformed church members see God in particular as a punitive judge, independent of personality, attachment and psychological distress, suggesting a large influence of religious culture on this particular type of God concept. Results are discussed from a psychotherapeutic point of view. Finally, several ethical issues regarding psychotherapy with religious clients are addressed.