This is a research to look into the relationship between the adult attachment behavior and attachment to God in order to provide a Christian counseling program and find a preventing dimension. For this, the researcher examined the preceded study of J...
This is a research to look into the relationship between the adult attachment behavior and attachment to God in order to provide a Christian counseling program and find a preventing dimension. For this, the researcher examined the preceded study of John Bowlby and Lee A. Kirkpatrick's theory. The attachment theory defines the human attachment behavior as the behavior of an instinct for survival and provides three distinctive attachment types: 'seeking and maintaining proximity', 'secure base and haven of safety' and 'experiencing anxiety when separated.' Specially, the attachment style formed during the early childhood continues throughout life and that further affects the next generations. Meanwhile, there are some research papers that prove the opposite results of attachment styles or patterns. The unsecure attachment converted from the secure attachment formed during the early childhood, in the changes of biological and psychological environment, can be reconverted to the secure attachment by self-resilience. The research shows that the attachment patterns can be changed alternative attachment figures provided in the developmental process.
Kirkpatrick, who developed the Bowlby's attachment theory, defined the religious behaviors of Christians as the attachment to God and built up two hypostasis: the correspondence hypothesis and the compensation hypothesis. They have been supported by a lot of research and proved that the unsecure attachment formed from the relationship at the initial stage of life between a believer and a caregiver resulted in becoming aware of God as a distorted image. Furthermore, they show that the unsecure attachment is causative of the attachment disorder like emotional disorder and addiction.
Based on the results, this study has tried to define the attachment to God by theological perspective and can has found two new ideas about the attachment. First, the human attachment behavior is also one of the God-created constructions because human being is sheer dependable being, and obeying His order, and longing for His caring grace, the secure attachment to Him can be established. When this relationship is built up between believers and God, God becomes believers' secure base and haven of safety. On the premise this, the researcher provided the Christian counseling method for the client in the unsecure attachment to God connected with the correspondence relationship and the compensation relationship. First, the client in the unsecure attachment and correspondence relationship need to reconstruct into the secure attachment to God. For this, the client has to analysis his/her attachment style and reconsider the internal working models to recognize relationship between the client and God correctly. Second, the client in the unsecure attachment with the compensation relationship is needed the spiritual care for correcting the relationship with God. To correct the compensation relationship, counselor uses the Bible to restore the relationship between the client and God. In the next step, counselor provides a consistent spiritual care program for client to obey God's order and to live Christ-like. Finally, it is the impetus of believer's sound life and the base in forming God's image to earn secure attachment at the initial stage of him/her. Therefore, the researcher suggested the Christian parents education and family worship as the preventing program.