Forgiveness Process Research Articles

The Effect of Forgiveness Psychoeducation on Death Anxiety, Caregiver Burden, and Forgiveness Tendencies in Caregivers of Patients at the End of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Providing caregivers with the skills and awareness of forgiveness is crucial to help them express their emotions, navigate the grieving process more smoothly, enhance their interaction with the patient, and make the time until the patient's death more meaningful. To examine the effect of forgiveness psychoeducation on death anxiety, caregiver burden, and forgiveness tendencies in caregivers of patients at the end of life. A randomized controlled experimental method was used, including a pretest, posttest, 1-month follow-up, and 3-month follow-up. The research sample included 56 caregivers of patients (experimental group = 28, control group = 28) at the end of life. During the study, forgiveness psychoeducation was administered to the experimental group, whereas no intervention was carried out in the control group. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Thorson-Powell Death Anxiety Scale, Caregiver Burden Scale, and Heartland Forgiveness Scale. The average scores of death anxiety and caregiving burden in the posttest and follow-up measurements of caregivers in the experimental group were statistically significantly lower than those of caregivers in the control group (P < .05). Forgiveness psychoeducation reduces death anxiety and caregiving burdens in caregivers of patients at the end of life. It is recommended to provide psychoeducation on forgiveness. The psychoeducation conducted by Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Nurses aimed at increasing the internal process of forgiveness can positively influence the communication, emotions, and spiritual development of caregivers of patients at the end of life. Thus, improving the quality of care can be achieved through forgiveness.

Craving to belong and to forgive in travel social media: a synthesis between goal progress and self-regulation perspectives

ABSTRACT This research improvises a model highlighting how tourists’ ruminative thinking from travel SNSs could be mitigated through a four-component approach rooted in self-regulation theory and the goal progress theory of rumination. Using a survey design, the model posits the need to belong as a motivational factor that drives travel SNS engagement and travel impulsion through the meditational monitoring processes of forgiveness and trust in SNSs. Two willpower factors – perceived secondary control and perceived enjoyment – were examined. This inquiry adds to the literature by building a synthesis between the two theories to showcase how tourists regulate themselves after traumatic events in cyberspace, and how this is juxtaposed with rumination through the lens of goal setting. The proposed model helps to explain the rumination of negative instances in social media and how tourists negotiate their conduct.

“I realized I had a choice”: the forgiveness journey of people living with HIV

ABSTRACT Forgiveness, a process of relinquishment of resentment, hostility, and anger toward an offender or self, is understudied among people living with HIV. This study examined the experience and process of forgiving the person who allegedly transmitted HIV, among people living with HIV. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 people living with HIV aged 25 or older, diagnosed at least three years before the study. Three main themes emerged: “Anger is a poison”: between forgiveness and unforgiveness; “I gave up the drive to suffer”: the meaning of forgiveness; and “Forgiving is like building a building”: phases of the forgiveness process between forgiveness and unforgiveness. This study revealed cognitive and emotional processes and phases of forgiveness. Forgiveness-focused interventions for people living with HIV are suggested.

The Effect of Self Compassion on Forgiveness in Wives Who Experience Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is rampant among married couples. Various types of domestic violence can have psychological impacts such as anxiety, fear, and depression. Forgiveness is one of the methods for victims of violence to prevent psychological disorders. Self-compassion provides kindness and helps with emotion regulation so that it helps the forgiveness process. The method used is quantitative with regression analysis to determine the effect of self-compassion on forgiveness in wives who experience domestic violence. The sample of this study was wives who were victims of domestic violence as many as 90 women. Forgiveness is measured by The Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivation Inventory (TRIM-18) scale (McCullough, 2003) and self-compassion is measured by The Self Compassion Scale (SCS) scale (Neff, 2003). Both scales have gone through validity and reliability tests. The results showed that there was no effect of self-compassion on forgiveness in wives who experienced domestic violence.

The Art of Forgiveness: Art-based inquiry into how art helped in the process of forgiveness

This article is a condensed summary of original qualitative and art-based research from the author’s doctoral dissertation. The focus of this research was to examine how eight participants had been assisted by various forms of art to work through their forgiveness process following grave injuries and injustices committed against them. Using response art-based research, their verbal accounts, gathered through semi-structured interviews, were examined and further reflected upon through summative poetic reflection and visual art created by the researcher. In so doing, the researcher captured key aspects of how art-making helped participants and communicated those findings artistically. Results indicate that art was facilitative in many ways including the externalization of complex emotions into concrete art forms that could be accessed and transformed into finding forgiveness in the safe place provided by the art.

All victims have something to say: the differential impact of victims’ narratives on intergroup forgiveness / Todas las víctimas tienen algo que decir: el impacto diferencial de las narrativas de víctimas en el perdón intergrupal

Victims’ testimonies have emerged as an interesting tool for generating changes in societies that are seeking to emerge from a violent conflict. However, victims are not a homogeneous group and their stances regarding the perpetrators can different according to whether they accept or reject intergroup forgiveness processes, as was the case of J. Améry, a writer and essayist who survived the Holocaust. In this article, we inquire into the impact of victims’ testimonies on attitudes towards intergroup forgiveness in Spain ( N = 274). An experimental study with three conditions was designed using victims’ testimonies that were favourable (Condition 1) and unfavourable (Condition 2) to intergroup forgiveness, along with a condition with statistical data on violence (Condition 0). The results show a differential impact on attitudes based on the victim’s testimony, in addition to emotional activation that is not inherently related to attitudes in favour of forgiveness but instead to the victim’s attitude towards that process.

Towards a fuller understanding of the healing of childhood parental wounds: an international study of adult children’s forgiveness. ‘No matter how deep the hurt’

ABSTRACT This article describes a study of adult children’s forgiveness processes following severe childhood parental injury. Consistent with the phenomenological tradition of qualitative research in-depth interviews were conducted with forty-eight participants in the Netherlands, Romania, and Israel to capture their lived experiences of recovery, using forgiveness, from early parental injury. The findings highlight the commanding importance of reaching a conscious wiled decision to pursue child–parent forgiveness, such decision-making fuelled by insights facilitated by the processes of adult development and reinforced by a pro-forgiveness environment. Subsequent to this initial decision, recognizing the joint humanity of parent and child and scaffolding an understanding of the parent and his or her injury within its temporal, cultural and psychological context is of paramount importance to the eventual attainment of forgiveness. Forgiveness, although an ongoing journey, brings with it important fruits. Study findings, including their various nation-specific nuances, are discussed in light of the existing literature on forgiveness processes. Implications of study findings for clinicians working with individuals to facilitate forgiveness of parentally inflicted wounds are considered.

PEMAAFAN REMAJA BROKEN HOME DI KOTA TOMOHON

Forgiveness is a process that affects emotional changes and a person's attitude towards the abuser who has hurt him. This study aims to determine the process of forgiveness, factors that influence forgiveness, and forms of forgiveness in broken home adolescents in Tomohon City whose parents divorced. The method used in this study is qualitative phenomenological method. The informants used as research material amounted to two people, sampling in this study was purposive sampling, the methods used were observation and interviews. The results of this study show differences in forgiveness that occur in the two informants as well as different experiences of events and perceptions of actions committed by each parent towards the informant and also in the informant's family which can be seen from the dimension of forgiveness by McCullough, Root, and Cohen (2006).

Psychological perspectives on divine forgiveness: seeking divine forgiveness.

Seeking divine forgiveness (forgiveness by a Supreme Being or Higher Power) is important because the perception of such forgiveness is associated with psychological well-being This paper is the first to examine a process model of divine forgiveness in which the decision to pursue such forgiveness initiates the process of seeking it. Two studies investigate the likelihood of seeking divine forgiveness. Study 1 (N = 190) introduces and provides discriminant validity for a unidimensional measure divine forgiveness seeking. Convergent validity is provided by demonstrating that seeking divine forgiveness correlates with reported experiences of divine forgiveness both concurrently and six weeks later. Study 2 (N = 390) provides a confirmatory factor analysis of seeking divine forgiveness scale items identified in Study 1 and replicates the concurrent and temporal association with reported experiences of divine forgiveness using a longer time interval (12 weeks). It also documents associations between a person's image of God, attachment and closeness to God and the likelihood of seeking divine forgiveness. Both studies control for religiosity and Study 2 introduces an additional control for impression management. Together, they provide support for the idea that the decision to pursue divine forgiveness begins the process of seeking such forgiveness. We discuss limitations of the research and outline several paths for additional studies.

Mediating role of self-reflection and insight in the relationship between forgiveness and Gestalt contact disturbances

During the university period, individuals join a social environment in which they learn to establish new relationships. The emergence of these new experiences can bring about interpersonal conflicts and the process of forgiveness. Disturbances in the individual's interactions with oneself and others during this process may have negative effects on forgiveness. Some theories and models mention the important roles of self-reflection and insight into the forgiveness process. However, the relationships between Gestalt contact disturbances, forgiveness, self-reflection, and insight were not examined sufficiently. The aim of the current study is to examine the mediating roles of self-reflection and insight in the relationship between Gestalt contact disturbances (contact, full contact, dependent contact, post-contact) and forgiveness (self forgiveness and forgiveness of others) in a sample of university students. The participants were a total of 377 university students, 246 (65.3%) women and 131 (34.7%) men, who were reached by convenient and snowball sampling methods. The current study included university students aged 18-30, with an average participant age of 23.93. In the data collection process Gestalt Contact Disturbances Scale, Self-Reflection and Insight Scale and Forgiveness Scale were applied. Descriptive statistics, correlation and mediation analyses were conducted using SPSS 23.0 and PROCESS Macro 4.2 (Model-4). The findings indicated that insight had a mediating role in the relationship between contact and full contact with self-forgiveness. Self-reflection had a mediating role in the relationship between dependent contact and post-contact with self-forgiveness, while insight had a mediating role in the relationship between contact and forgiveness of others.

Explaining the Causal Relationships Between Childhood Maltreatment and Attachment Styles with Forgiveness in Betrayal Victims: The Mediating Role of Defensive Mechanisms

Objective: The primary aim of the current research was to present a forgiveness model based on childhood maltreatment and attachment styles with the mediating role of defensive mechanisms in betrayal victims. Methods and Materials: The method of this study was descriptive-correlational and of the structural equation modeling type. The population of this study consisted of individuals who were victims of betrayal and had sought counseling in Tehran in the year 2022, from whom 653 persons were selected through convenience sampling. The instruments used in this study were the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire by Bernstein et al. (2003), the Attachment Styles Questionnaire by Hazan and Shaver (1987), the Defense Mechanisms Questionnaire by Andrews et al. (1993), and the Forgiveness Questionnaire by Rey et al. (2001). Data were analyzed using SPSS-25 and AMOS-24 software. Findings: The results indicated that there is a negative relationship between childhood maltreatment, insecure attachment styles, and undeveloped and neurotic defensive mechanisms with forgiveness (P&lt;0.01); whereas secure attachment style and developed defenses had a positive relationship with forgiveness (P&lt;0.01). Additionally, the results suggested that defensive mechanisms mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and attachment styles with forgiveness in betrayal victims. Conclusion: Overall, the results demonstrated that the evaluated structural model has a satisfactory fit, and the findings could aid therapists and counselors in better understanding the forgiveness process in betrayal victims.

The Mediating Role of Early Maladaptive Schemas in Explaining the Causal Relationships Between Childhood Maltreatment, Attachment Styles, and Forgiveness in Betrayal Victims

Objective: The primary goal of this study was to present a forgiveness model based on childhood maltreatment and attachment styles, with the mediating role of early maladaptive schemas in betrayal victims. Methods: This descriptive correlational study involved betrayal victims who had sought counseling in Tehran in 2022, with a sample of 653 individuals selected through convenience sampling. The instruments used included Bernstein et al.'s (2003) Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Hazan and Shaver's (1987) Attachment Style Questionnaire, Young's (1999) Early Maladaptive Schema Questionnaire, and the Forgiveness Questionnaire by Ray et al. (2001). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and AMOS version 24. Findings: The results indicated a negative relationship between childhood maltreatment, insecure attachment styles, and early maladaptive schemas with forgiveness, while secure attachment showed a positive relationship with forgiveness. Furthermore, the results suggested that early maladaptive schemas mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment, attachment styles, and forgiveness in betrayal victims. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicated that the evaluated structural model was well-fitted, and the findings could assist therapists and counselors in better understanding the forgiveness process in betrayal victims.

Forgiveness Process for Students in Assignment Groups

This research was conducted to determine the dynamics ofstudent forgiveness in a work group. The number of subjects inthis research were 4 students who had been in a task group andhad felt disappointed and hurt by the treatment of members inone group. This research used a qualitative approach with aphenomenological research design. This was done to obtain morein-depth results regarding the dynamics of student forgiveness.The data analysis method used in this research was thematicanalysis. The results of this research showed the dynamics ofstudent forgiveness were different. From the four subjects, therewere subjects who had forgiven, there were also those who werein the process of forgiving and there were subjects who had notyet forgiven. The three aspects explained by Nashori (2011) werealso revealed in this research, meaning that four subjects broughtup aspects of forgiveness conveyed by Nashori (2011). Apart fromthat, the most important finding in the research was the existenceof forms of forgiveness from students and the process of givingforgiveness.

“I Felt Like I Wanted to Hug the Whole World”: Forgiveness as an Embodied Emotional Narrative Process

AbstractEarlier studies have shown that forgiveness is an emotional process. However, it is not very clear how the emotional transition is made from transgression to forgiveness, or how it is embodied. The current research explored how embodiment and emotions are used to make sense of the narrative forgiveness process. Applying McAdams’s life story interview method, 22 Finnish adults were interviewed about their experiences of forgiveness. Their responses were subjected to thematic narrative analysis. The data-driven process revealed two overarching themes: empowerment and pain. Five subthemes were formed: (1) forgiveness as a liberation, (2) forgiveness as a relief from a burden, (3) forgiveness as releasing energy, (4) forgiveness through vulnerability, and (5) forgiveness through hate. The findings indicate that forgiveness is a complex and dimensional process with nuances on emotional, sensory, and embodied levels. In the past, forgiveness and unforgiveness have been constructed as distinct entities, but the current results highlight that they may overlap. Future studies could explore forgiveness and unforgiveness together with various methods to gain deeper understanding of being hurt, releasing the hurt, and living with it.

Personal and Relational Processes of Repentance in Religious Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Families

Considerable social science research has illuminated religion’s profound and predominantly positive impact on individuals and families. Nevertheless, numerous noteworthy aspects of religion, including repentance, have not been explored in-depth from a social science perspective to understand their psychological and relational processes and implications. Further, the emphasis and importance of repentance across the Abrahamic faiths, combined with calls from social scientists to better understand processes of repentance and seeking divine forgiveness, indicate the benefit of repentance-focused research. Subsequently, we used team-based systematic qualitative coding to conduct secondary analyses of repentance processes in interviews with 127 exemplar US Jewish, Christian, and Muslim families ( N = 218). Analyses explored the: (a) motivations and antecedents of repentance, (b) processes of repentance, (c) resources to aid in repentance, and (d) perceived outcomes of repentance. Additionally, some participants described repentance as negative, neutral, or ineffective. The article discusses psychological and relational benefits of repentance in religious families despite some potentially adverse consequences, highlights implications for practitioners and interventions that incorporate repentance, and suggests topics for future research.

Spiritual Power of Gratitude and Forgiveness

Joe Vitale asked question to Dr. Hew Len about how exactly he healed violent patients without actually seeing each of them in person and without any medical treatment. He answered for that “I didn’t heal them. I healed part of myself that created them”. Dr. Hew Len was the most avid student and practitioner of MorrnahSimeona and he observed healing powers of Ho’oponopono practically.&#x0D; After 2017, researcher was under depression (till 2021) to find answer of her. Researcher tried to understand the meaning of Dr. Hew Len answered sentence researcher read many article on ho’oponopono process during March to December 2021 and practically apply everything on her and I have found very drastically changes in her life. ho’oponopono practice literally did a magic to me and pulled out me from depression.&#x0D; Through this study researcher going to find that, there is any significance relation between ho’oponopono process and spiritual power of Gratitude and Forgiveness to clean yourself from negative vibe and prepare your subconscious mind for your joyful life.

Qualitative analysis of forgiveness towards parents and examination of connections to current romantic relationship in adults from children's homes

The primary goal of this study was to find out how adults raised in children's homes perceive and experience forgiveness toward their parents, specifically their mother and father. The secondary goal was to examine any connections between them forgiving their parents and their current romantic relationship. The sample consisted of 10 individuals raised in children's homes, with an average age of 25.7 years (SD = 3.2) and average length of romantic relationship of 3.2 years (SD = 1.03). Data were obtained by semi-structured interview and analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill & Knox, 2021). Participants understood forgiveness mainly as the absence of negative emotions and as moving forward. The main motivation for forgiving one’s parent was discussions with children’s home staff and volunteers, but also exhaustion from negative feelings. An important aspect of the forgiveness process was understanding the parent and their life. The process of forgiving one’s mother and father was similar; however, participants experienced greater difficulty forgiving their father and were more willing to reconcile with their mother. The consequences of forgiveness were described mainly in terms of an absence of negative feelings and achieving inner peace. Participants also stated that forgiving a parent was associated with greater satisfaction in their romantic relationship, more open communication and being more understanding of their partner. The results of this study reveal the importance of forgiveness in the lives of people raised in children’s homes, not just in terms of overall quality of life, but also quality of romantic relationship and healing relationships with parents.

Differential Forgiveness Perspectives and Their Implications on Bangsamoro-Christian Conflict Resolution

Abstract The article explored intergroup perspectives among Bangsamoro and Christian group members to determine their impact on forgiveness-based peace initiatives and conflict resolution. It adopts a qualitative approach by analyzing thematically four (4) focus group discussions. Bangsamoro participants’ themes on Intergroup Forgiveness as a Process of Negotiation and Pride as Key Factor in the Process of Intergroup Forgiveness stress socio-religious and political leaders’ roles including that of cultural values such as maratabat (honor) and sabar (silent forbearance). Christian participants’ Intergroup Forgiveness as an Outcome through Discussion/Communication theme emphasizes understanding and pride’s impact on the forgiveness process. These findings bring to awareness the complexity of integrating intergroup forgiveness in current peacebuilding interventions.

The development of a scale of self-efficacy to work on forgiveness in counseling

It is said that working on forgiveness in psychological counseling will significantly benefit the individual, taking into account the good consequences of forgiving on the individual. This study aimed to develop a measurement tool for determining self-efficacy to work on forgiveness in counseling (SSWOFIC). The most commonly regarded forgiveness process model, Enright's Forgiveness Process Model, served as the foundation for the creation of this measurement tool. 285 counselors provided information for the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and 258 counselors provided information for the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). For the content validity of the scale, eight specialists were contacted. EFA revealed a single factor structure with 41 items that accounted for 61.7% of the overall variation. It was found that all of the SSWOFIC's items were discriminative and had a high level of factor loading value in the pertinent factor. To ascertain if the structure identified by EFA was confirmed or not, CFA was carried out. The one-factor structure was confirmed, as evidenced by the resulting model's fit indices. The computed Cronbach's Alpha and McDonald's Omega reliability coefficients were 0.99, and the Split-Half method's results for the Guttman and Spearman-Brown coefficients were 0.96. The SSWOFIC results demonstrated the validity and reliability of the scale, which consists of a single component and 41 items. The established scale will make it possible to conduct studies to ascertain the level of self-efficacy of psychological counselors with regard to this matter and to examine this feature in terms of other variables.

Conversations with God: How Are Religion and Spirituality Used to Make Sense of Forgiveness?

Forgiveness has a connection to religion and spirituality. Yet, little is known about how religious and spiritual people actually forgive. The present study investigated how religion and spirituality are used to make sense of forgiveness. The narratives of seven interviewees were chosen for close analysis of their experiences of forgiveness. McAdams’s life story interview method and narrative analysis were applied. Five themes were formulated: (1) forgiveness as Christian duty, (2) forgiveness as God’s miracle, (3) forgiveness through praying, (4) forgiveness through God’s sacrifice, and (5) forgiveness as God’s mercy. The findings indicate that God was important to the interviewees and supported their forgiveness process. Subthemes of revenge and justice suggest that sometimes forgiveness and revenge motives may be intertwined. Forgiveness was a divine process for the participants, and some felt that they would not have been able to forgive without God. Attributing forgiveness to God may serve the forgiveness process.