Attachmet to God, attachment to parents/peers, and religious attitude among Italian adolescents

Many contributions of the literature describing the relationship that a Catholic believer has with God refer to Bowlby's attachment theory. In this perspective, the main characteristics of the styles of attachment to parents and peers may recur in relationship with God. This study examined the relationship between parent/peer attachment, attacchment to God and religious attitude in a sample of 992 Italian adolescents. The data provide evidence for a positive relationship between attachment to God, to parents, and religious attitude. Analyses found parent/peer attachment and friendship quality as predictors than God attachment. The findings of this study tend to confirm the hypothesis that the relationship with God is influenced by attachment styles with parents and peers. However, the results show that low levels in some dimensions of attachment (Trust and Communication) tend to be compensated by the relationship with God.