University Presentation Showcase: Undergraduate Poster Gallery
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Creation Date
Fall 4-9-2020
Major
Child and Family Psychology
Department
Psychology
Degree
Undergraduate
Mentor
Steffen Wilson
Mentor Department
Psychology
Abstract
There has been quite a bit of research investigating the impact of connectedness and a secure attachment on children, adolescents, and adults. As examples, connectedness to parents influence feelings of connectedness in adulthood (Hagerty et al., 2002), and college students with higher levels of university connectedness have higher grades (Wilson et al., 2018). Secure attachment has been correlated with lower levels of conduct problems and emotional difficulties, as well as higher levels of prosocial behavior in adolescents (Oldfield et al., 2016).
One variable that has not been investigated in relationship to connectedness and attachment style is spiritual intelligence. Like connectedness and a secure attachment, individuals with higher levels of spiritual intelligence experience higher levels of mental health and happiness (Amirian & Fazilat-Pour, 2016).
One hundred and forty college students at Eastern Kentucky University were given a brief survey that included The Friendship Scale (Hawthorne, 2005), the Adolescent Attachment Questionnaire (Westen, Nakash, Thomas, & Bradley, 2006), and the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (King & DeCicco, 2009).
It was hypothesized and found that higher levels of spiritual intelligence predicted higher levels of both connectedness and secure attachment. Post-hoc analyses revealed that three of the four sub-groups of Spiritual Intelligence were predictors of connectedness and a secure attachment style. Specifically, Conscious State Expansion and Personal Meaning Making predicted higher levels of connectedness, while Personal Meaning Making and Transcendental Awareness predicted a secure attachment.
