Human attachment relationships are considered to be foundational to psychological well-being (Fonagy, 1999; Warren, Huston, Egeland, & Sroufe, 1997) and, by extension, attachment to God is often considered foundational to psychological well-being amongst Christian believers (Kirkpatrick, 1999; Miner, 2009). However, studies of psychological need satisfaction by different attachment figures (La Guardia, Ryan, Couchman, & Deci, 2000) suggest that experiences in which basic psychological needs are satisfied are conducive to more secure attachment relationships, and thus, to enhanced psychological well-being. This paper tests two contrasting models of attachment to God, need satisfaction, and well-being: the Attachment Security Primacy Model which holds that attachment security facilitates experiences of psychological need satisfaction and thence increased well-being; and the Need Satisfaction Primacy Model which holds that experiences of psychological need satisfaction facilitate attachment security and thence increased well-being. Using self-report data from 225 Australian Christian participants, Structural Equation Modeling indicated that the Need Satisfaction Primacy Model fit the data better than competing models. Implications for augmenting theories of attachment to God and providing contexts in which people can experience God as meeting basic needs are discussed.

According to Self Determination Theory, psychological health and well-being depend on the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Significant others differentially contribute to the perceived satisfaction of basic psychological needs. God is a significant Other for Christians, but there is no published research investigating perceptions of God meeting basic psychological needs. This paper considers psychological and theological evidence concerning Christian perceptions that God could meet basic psychological needs. It reports evidence from a study of 225 Australian Christians testing the hypotheses that: (1) God will be perceived as meeting basic psychological needs uniquely in the context of significant others meeting needs, and (2) attributions to God meeting basic psychological needs will be negatively related to psychological ill-health. Results suggest that God is perceived as meeting basic psychological needs to a small but significant extent in the context of the effects of significant human figures. Further, lower symptoms of depression and stress are reported when God is perceived to meet needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. The study provides preliminary evidence that God's perceived capacity to meet basic psychological has not only theoretical and theological interest, but also practical psychological interest as well.

SignificanceExisting screening tools for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are often clinically impractical for detecting milder forms of impairment. The formal diagnosis of HAND requires an assessment of both cognition and impairment in activities of daily living (ADL). To address the critical need for identifying patients who may have disability associated with HAND, we implemented a low-cost screening tool, the Virtual Driving Test (VDT) platform, in a vulnerable cohort of people with HIV (PWH). The VDT presents an opportunity to cost-effectively screen for milder forms of impairment while providing practical guidance for a cognitively demanding ADL.ObjectivesWe aimed to: (1) evaluate whether VDT performance variables were associated with a HAND diagnosis and if so; (2) systematically identify a manageable subset of variables for use in a future screening model for HAND. As a secondary objective, we examined the relative associations of identified variables with impairment within the individual domains used to diagnose HAND.MethodsIn a cross-sectional design, 62 PWH were recruited from an established HIV cohort and completed a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment (CNPA), followed by a self-directed VDT. Dichotomized diagnoses of HAND-specific impairment and impairment within each of the seven CNPA domains were ascertained. A systematic variable selection process was used to reduce the large amount of VDT data generated, to a smaller subset of VDT variables, estimated to be associated with HAND. In addition, we examined associations between the identified variables and impairment within each of the CNPA domains.ResultsMore than half of the participants (N = 35) had a confirmed presence of HAND. A subset of twenty VDT performance variables was isolated and then ranked by the strength of its estimated associations with HAND. In addition, several variables within the final subset had statistically significant associations with impairment in motor function, executive function, and attention and working memory, consistent with previous research.ConclusionWe identified a subset of VDT performance variables that are associated with HAND and assess relevant functional abilities among individuals with HAND. Additional research is required to develop and validate a predictive HAND screening model incorporating this subset.