Attachment and Religiosity in Adolescence: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evaluations

The study offers the first investigation of cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between attachment and religiosity with adolescent participants. Adolescence is a life period linked to attachment transitions and religious changes. The research was conducted to help resolve inconsistent results from previous cross-sectional versus longitudinal studies and studies on attachment to parents versus peer attachment. Time 1 questionnaire data was collected from 196 Swedish adolescents (M age = 16 years); 143 participants completed the 15-month follow-up. Results from the cross-sectional analyses generally supported the socialized correspondence and emotional compensation hypotheses, particularly in relation to attachment to mother. Results from the longitudinal analyses were more mixed. The discussion integrates the hypotheses with Kirkpatrick’s previous proposal, argues for a main focus on attachment to parents rather than peer attachment, and offers suggestions for future attachment and religion studies.