The Relationship of Parental Attachment and Christian Spirituality with Intergenerational Conflict between Korean-American Young Adults and Their Parents

Abstract

This empirical study had two main interests—relationships among Intergenerational Conflict (Intergenerational Conflict Inventory), Parent Attachment (Inventory of Parent Peer Attachment), and Christian Spirituality (Spiritual Assessment Inventory) and the mediation of Parent Attachment between Intergenerational Conflict and Christian Spirituality. This study defines Christian spirituality as the relationship with God (God-Relationship), measured by the SAI. Based on the self-report of 406 one and a half (1.5) and second generation Korean-American young adults in California, this study indicated three significant correlations among three factors: Intergenerational Conflict between Parent Attachment (p < .01), Parent Attachment between Christian Spirituality (p < .01), and Intergenerational Conflict between the subscales of Christian Spirituality such as Awareness, Disappointment, Realistic Acceptance, Instability, and Impression Management (p < .01). Significant effects of Parent Attachment (p < .01) on the prediction of the subscales of Christian Spirituality were found. Conversely, Parent Attachment (p < .01) and Instability (p < .05), one of the subscales of the SAI, predicted the effect on intergenerational conflict. Thus, parental attachment showed significant prediction on the subscales of Christian spirituality and intergenerational conflict. These results could induce developmental/psychological, cultural, spiritual, and biblical interpretations and suggest some implications for churches, parents, and young adults who are experiencing intergenerational conflict.