A research on the relationship between attachment, religious coping and life satisfaction in dialysis patients

This study aims to investigate the relationship between life satisfaction and attachment styles and religious coping styles. In addition, determining how religious orientation and mood are in chronic diseases is also among the aims of this study. What makes this study important is an attempt to provide a profile that can represent the spiritual dimension of dialysis patients.The research was conducted with 609 patients receiving dialysis treatment and residing in different provinces of Turkey between October 2018- April 2019. The age range of the sample of the study is 20-95 and the average age is 60.62. 47.8% (n = 291) of the participants are female and 52.2% (n = 318) are male. In this thesis, I used Hazan & Shaver's Adult Attachment Scale (1987) to measure adult attachment styles, Kirkpatrcik & Shaver's Attachment Scale to God (1992) to measure the ways of attachment to God, Pargament et al. The Religious Coping Scale (1998) to measure the ways of religious coping and the Life Satisfaction Scale (2007) developed by Lavallee et al. to measure life satisfaction. Data was collected through interviewing 574 dialysis patients face-to-face, and 35 dialysis patients by sharing survey questions on social networking sites. In this study, the data were analyzed using the relational screening model survey technique. Variable types, normality and homogeneity assumptions were taken into account when deciding on the type of analysis. As a result, ya test, one-way ANOVA, two-way ANOVA (fANCOVA), ANCOVA or Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis H tests were used. In cases where the dependent and independent variable is categorical, chi-square analysis was performed. In this study conducted on the relationship between attachment styles, religious coping styles and life satisfaction, the following findings were obtained: Dialysis patients are more securely attached to the attachment figure in close relationships and in their relationship with God. Those who are securely attached to the adult are also securely attached to God; those who have anxious and avoiding attachments to the adult individual, are also attached to God in anxious and avoidant way. Those who are securely attached to the attachment figure (adult and God) have higher life satisfaction than those who are insecurely attached. Individuals who are securely attached to the attachment figure have more positive emotions and those who are more insecurely attached have negative emotions. Those who are securely attached to God, use less negative religious coping activities than those who avoid and are concerned with anxiety. Those who use positive religious coping activities have more positive emotions and those who use negative coping activities have more negative emotions. There is a positive relationship between life satisfaction and positive religious coping style, and negative relationship between negative religious coping style. At the same time, findings have been obtained regarding the relationship between demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, educational status, year of dialysis and financial status, and attachment, religious coping and life satisfaction. As a result, there is a relationship between attachment styles, religious coping styles and life satisfaction. Keywords: Adult Attachment, Attachment to God, Secure Attachment, Anxious Attachment, Avoidant Attachment, Positive Religious Coping, Negative Religious Coping, Mood and Life Satisfaction