718 vII. APPLICATIONS  AND  IMPLICATIONS
yond self-  perceived change, including infor -
mant reports, as well as further measures of 
actual change. Researchers should especially 
aim to acquire true preconversion measure -
ment by pretesting a large number of par -
ticipants, then following up with those who 
actually experience a conversion over time 
compared to controls.
A few studies have begun to employ such 
longitudinal methods in examining the tra -
jectories of personality change related to 
conversion. Examining the outcomes of con -
version, longitudinal studies have demon -
strated that religious conversion and spiri -
tual transformation enhance psychological 
well-being, virtues, and life meaning, as well 
as change values. In a 3-year longitudinal 
study of Chinese adults recruited in Hong 
Kong and Macau, conversion to Christian -
ity predicted subsequent decreases in stress 
and anxiety, as well as a decline in power 
and achievement values, accompanied by 
an increase in benevolence, conformity, and 
tradition values (traits did not change as a 
result of conversion; Hui et al., 2017). In 
two studies conducted with adolescents at -
tending Christian summer camps, spiritual 
transformation and religious conversion 
predicted positive change in virtues, proso -
ciality, and psychological well-being a year 
following (Schnitker, Felke, Barrett, & Em -
mons, 2014a, 2014b). Increased purpose in 
life was predicted by engagement with the 
religious group rather than the experience 
of spiritual transformation or a religious 
conversion at summer camp. This suggests 
previous findings that the incidence of a con -
version is correlated greater postconversion 
purpose and competence (Paloutzian, 1981; 
Zinnbauer & Pargament, 1998) may reflect 
converts’ greater engagement in religious 
community rather than the direct effects of 
a conversion.
Pertaining to the antecedents of conver -
sion or transformation, researchers have 
amassed support for James’s (1902) and 
Starbuck’s (1911) seminal theories that peo -
ple who are experiencing acute distress or 
self- fragmentation are more likely to experi -
ence a religious conversion or spiritual trans -
formation. Schnitker, Ratchford, Emmons, 
and Barrett (2019) found that adolescents 
with higher conflict among goals and lower 
meaning on those goals were more likely to report a subsequent conversion at evange -
listic Christian summer camps. Likewise, 
stressors or attachment threats, in combina -
tion with an insecure attachment, often pre -
cede conversion. For instance, Kirkpatrick 
(1997, 1998) has shown that people who 
exhibit an insecure adult attachment style 
are more likely to report a new relationship 
with God in the 4 years following the initial 
measurement of adult attachment. Kirkpat -
rick’s findings seem to support the hypoth -
esis that conversion acts as compensation 
for insecure attachment relationships with 
other people. However, it should be noted 
that conversion is not equivalent to spiritual 
maturity, as higher levels of spiritual growth 
are actually reported for those with secure 
attachment styles (Granqvist, 1998).
Conversion, however, relies on the cultur -
al scripts available to the individual. Rambo 
(1993) highlights the importance of broad -
er cultural factors in providing individuals 
with access to religious symbols, myths, and 
rituals that may facilitate conversion. Those 
individuals who already possess a religious- 
based orienting system would be more likely 
to experience spiritual transformation dur -
ing stress (Pargament, 1997). Finally, certain 
demographic groups report more conver -
sions than others. For example, conversions 
are found to occur most often during ado -
lescence, with females converting 1–2 years 
earlier than males on average (Hood, Spilka, 
Hunsberger, & Gorsuch, 1996; Regnerus 
& Uecker, 2006). This seems reasonable, as 
adolescence is a time of identity formation 
and is also when individuals challenge nor -
mative systems.
Conclusion
Over one-half century ago, Gordon Allport 
(1955, p. 93) stated, “If we ask what psychol -
ogy has contributed to our understanding of 
the religious nature of man, the answer is, 
‘Less than we might wish.’ ” Over the past 
decade progress in understanding the role 
of religion and spirituality in personality 
has begun to accelerate. Much progress has 
been made at the interface of personality 
psychology and the psychology of religion, 
as personality researchers from diverse theo -
retical positions have begun to view religion 