Abstract Background Attachment and spirituality are thought to have deep evolutionary roots but are always interpreted within the framework of culture, religion and personal beliefs. While insecure attachment has been observed to be positively related with psychopathology, a positive mental health effect has often been described for spirituality. To examine the cross-cultural validation of previous research focused on Austrian young adults with Western socialization, we attempt to replicate our study examining the influence spirituality has on the connection between insecure attachment and mood-related psychiatric burden with Indian young adults. Methods We investigated Avoidant (AV) and Anxious (AX) Attachment (ECR-RD), Religious (RWB) and Existential (EWB) Well-Being (MI-RSWB), and mood-related psychiatric burden (Anxiety, Depression, Somatization; BSI-18) in 443 (31% female) Indian young adults (age range: 18–30 years) with a Hindu upbringing. Results Compared to young adults with a Roman Catholic upbringing in a Western socialization, Indian participants did not differ in AX and EWB but scored higher in mood-related psychiatric burden (eta 2 = .04), AV (eta 2 = .14), as well as RWB (eta 2 = .28; all p