Description

The Concepts of God and Parental Images Scale (CGPI) is a psychometric tool designed to explore the relationships between individuals’ perceptions of God and the images they have of their parents. This scale examines how experiences and relationships with parents can influence individuals’ perceptions of God, including characteristics such as nurturing, strictness, protection, and support.

Objective

The main objectives of the CGPI are:
Assessment of Perceptions of God: To record individuals’ perceptions of God, such as nurturing, strictness, protection, and support.
Understanding Relationships with Parents: To examine how images and experiences with parents affect perceptions of God.
Exploration of Correlations: To investigate the relationships between perceptions of God and experiences with parents, facilitating an understanding of psychological and spiritual influences.
Supporting Research and Interventions: To provide data that can be used for developing research programs and interventions aimed at improving spiritual and mental well-being.

Analysis

The analysis of the data collected through the CGPI includes the following steps:
Data Collection: Participants complete a questionnaire that includes questions about their perceptions of God and their experiences with their parents.
Quantitative Evaluation: The responses are statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and correlation analysis to understand the dominant trends and relationships.
Interpretation of Results: The results are interpreted to identify dominant trends and relationships between perceptions of God and experiences with parents.
Group Comparison: Differences in perceptions of God and experiences with parents are examined among different demographic, cultural, and religious groups.

Calibration

The calibration of the CGPI includes:
Ensuring Reliability: Using reliability indicators such as Cronbach’s alpha to assess the internal consistency of the responses.
Ensuring Validity: Confirming the validity of the tool through confirmatory factor analysis and other assessment methods.
Repeat Testing: Conducting repeat tests with different groups of participants to confirm the reliability and validity of the tool in various contexts.

References

Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Shaver, P. R. (1992). “An Attachment-Theoretical Approach to Romantic Love and Religious Belief.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18(3), 266-275.
Rizzuto, A. M. (1979). The Birth of the Living God: A Psychoanalytic Study. University of Chicago Press.
Granqvist, P. (2006). “On the Relation Between Secular and Divine Relationships: An Emerging Attachment Perspective and a Critique of the ‘Depth’ Approaches.” International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 16(1), 1-18.
Hall, T. W., Fujikawa, A., Halcrow, S. R., Hill, P. C., & Delaney, H. (2009). “Attachment to God and Implicit Spirituality: Clarifying Correspondence and Compensation Models.” Journal of Psychology and Theology, 37(4), 227-244.
Benson, P., & Spilka, B. (1973). “God Image as a Function of Self-Esteem and Locus of Control.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 12(3), 297-310.