Negative Forgiveness Research Articles

Relationships between forgiveness, life satisfaction, and empathy in honorary blood donors. The mediating role of forgiveness

Introduction: Voluntary blood donation can be considered as an expression of pro-social behaviour, resulting from empathetic motives and a desire to help those in need of a transfusion of whole blood or it’s components, as it was demonstrated by numerous studies. The process of donation is carried out in accordance with the prescribed stages, which include the initial qualification and examination of the blood and exclusion of any diseases or postoperative complications that may have negative consequences for the future recipient. In view of the current trend in psychological research in the group of blood donors, we decided to examine the factors that may coexist and enhance empathy in this group, these factors being the disposition to forgiveness and satisfaction with life.
 Method: Main purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between life satisfaction, disposition to forgiveness, and empathy quotient, the level of explanation of empathy by life satisfaction and forgiveness, and the mediating role of forgiveness between life satisfaction and empathy in a group of honorary blood donors. The study group amounted to 111 subjects (72 women and 39 men). The mean age of the subjects was 24.9 years (SD=8.7). The study variables were measured using the scales: SWLS, HFS and SSIE.
 Results: The results of the conducted study showed associations between forgiveness and empathy and life satisfaction, and a satisfactory level of explanation of empathy by forgiveness (with a higher proportion of positive forgiveness) and life satisfaction. Mediation analysis also showed that forgiveness indirectly explains the relationship of life satisfaction and empathy. The correlation of blood donation seniority with life satisfaction and general and negative forgiveness was also found to be significant.
 Conclusions: The results of the conducted study can be considered as a contribution to further, more extensive research within the group of honorary blood donors. The results were confirmed in the literature, indicating a strong relationship between forgiveness and empathy, which may constitute a basis for the conclusion that forgiveness and life satisfaction resulting from longer length of blood donation may strengthen the level of empathy, as well as empathy itself may strengthen the level of forgiveness and life satisfaction.

Exchange and Communal Strengths’ Associations With Relational Characteristics and Forgiveness

Clark and Mills (2012) proposed that communal norms characterize “healthy marriages,” whereas exchange norms indicate “troubled” ones. Using the actor–partner interdependence model, we consider this proposal. Heterosexual married partners’ exchange and communal strength are examined with several relational features including trust, commitment, relational satisfaction, and control mutuality, as well as partner-specific tendencies toward forgiveness. The findings indicate that one’s communal strength is associated with positive relational features for both oneself and one’s spouse, as well as a greater propensity to forgive and lesser tendencies toward negative forgiveness (retaliation). Exchange strength was generally associated with negative forgiveness. However, the relationship between exchange strength and relational features is more complicated. Lesser communal strength was generally associated with lower levels of the relational characteristics. Yet, exchange and communal strength interacted, indicating exchange may play a protective function by buffering against the ill effects of a lack of communal strength for some relational characteristics.

The complex link between forgiveness, PTSD symptoms and well-being in female victims of intimate partner stalking

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and poor general health reported by female victims of intimate partner stalking (IPS) and victims’ forgiveness or lack of forgiveness towards their perpetrators, controlling for escalation of stalking, age of victims and dispositional forgiveness.Design/methodology/approachA total of 120 Italian female victims of IPS, who had obtained an administrative protective order (PO) issued by police in stalking cases (Ammonimento), took part in a retrospective study that examined the relationship between the presence or absence of victims’ forgiveness of perpetrators and victims’ PTSD symptoms and general well-being. Interviews took place after one, two or three years following the PO.FindingsAll participants reported some level of direct or indirect stalking, and up to 98 per cent had suffered both. In half of all cases, a PO had been breached within a year of its issuance. Positive forgiveness was not associated with lower PTSD symptoms and was marginally associated with well-being. Negative forgiveness (e.g. holding a grudge, desiring revenge) was associated with greater PTSD symptoms; holding a grudge was significantly associated with poorer general health.Research limitations/implicationsVictims of IPS experience a state of fear and anxiety due to the constant risk of being attacked, followed and controlled. Compared to studies about the protective role of forgiveness in community couples, this study found that among couples where stalking is present not only positive forgiveness does not take place at the same rate, but it is also not associated with the increased well-being. On the contrary, lack of forgiveness by stalked victims was related to PTSD symptoms and poorer health. Harbouring negative feelings, such a desire for revenge and holding a grudge towards a perpetrator, worsened woman’s mental health. These findings are novel and may assist the criminal justice system, law enforcement and service providers in their efforts to help women who are victims of IPS.Originality/valueThis study addresses the relationship between forgiveness and lack of forgiveness among victims of IPS and PTSD symptoms and victims’ poor health. Although longitudinal studies are needed to establish any causal relationship between stalking and mental health and the possibly mediating effects of forgiveness, this study is a first contribution to this important field of inquiry.

ゆるしと成人愛着スタイルとの関連

This study examined the relationship between forgiveness (for self and for others) and adult attachment styles. A total of 131 undergraduates completed a questionnaire. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that (a) “forgiveness of others” was negatively related to levels of avoidance, (b) “positive forgiveness of self” was negatively related to levels of avoidance and anxiety (c) “negative forgiveness of self” was negatively related to levels of anxiety.

Measuring the Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory in Marital Relationships

Objective: Because forgiveness is an important aspect of studies in marital relationships, there is a need for a culturally relevant measure of forgiveness for Chinese couples. This study aims to validate the Transgression-related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory in marital relationships within a Chinese context (C-TRIM). Method: Data were collected from 665 married individuals in Hong Kong who completed a self-administered questionnaire. Results: It is suggested that C-TRIM is a one-factor scale consisting of 12 items. It is also found that C-TRIM and benevolence are two distinct dimensions in measuring forgiveness in a marriage. C-TRIM represents negative forgiveness, whereas benevolence refers to positive forgiveness. Conclusion: C-TRIM demonstrates to be a valid and reliable scale with which to assess the forgiveness level of individuals toward their offending partner in Chinese communities.

Widening spheres of impact: The role of forgiveness in marital and family functioning.

This study examined relations between aspects of family functioning and positive and negative dimensions of forgiveness. Increased understanding of one's partner and decreased anger about betrayal characterize positive forgiveness, whereas experiences such as holding a grudge and desiring revenge indicate negative forgiveness. The sample included 87 wives and 74 husbands who reported experiencing a significant betrayal, their partners, and their adolescent children. Analyses of reported forgiveness revealed that more negative forgiveness was associated with lower marital satisfaction for husbands and wives; trust partially mediated this relationship for husbands and wives. Greater positive forgiveness reported by husbands and wives predicted their own reports of a stronger parenting alliance, whereas greater negative forgiveness reported by husbands and wives predicted their spouses' reports of a weaker parenting alliance. For wives, more negative forgiveness also predicted higher levels of children's perceived parental conflict, and parents' reported conflict mediated this association for wives. Findings suggest that forgiveness of a marital betrayal is significantly associated with marital satisfaction, the parenting alliance, and children's perceptions of parental marital functioning.

Forgiveness and mental health variables: Interpreting the relationship using an adaptational-continuum model of personality and coping

The present paper uses an adaptational-continuum model of personality, based on Ferguson’s (2001) health psychology model integrating Eysenck personality factors and coping style, to provide a context for examining the relationship between forgiveness and mental health. Three hundred and twenty respondents completed measures of personality, coping style, forgiveness (forgiveness of self, others, likelihood, presence of positive forgiveness, absence of negative forgiveness), general health, stress, positive and negative affect and life satisfaction. Among respondents, all measures of forgiveness, bar one, load negatively on a neuroticism-coping factor. The remaining measure of forgiveness (presence of positive forgiveness) loaded on an extraversion-coping factor. The relationship of the neuroticism-coping-forgiveness factor was associated with poorer mental health, suggesting forgiveness is associated with better mental health within the context of this personality-coping factor. Significant positive relationships were found between the extraversion-coping-forgiveness factor and two measures of positive mental health outcomes (positive affect and life satisfaction) suggesting forgiveness is associated with some aspects of mental health within the context of this personality-coping factor. The present findings suggest that forgiveness, or failure to forgive, can be conceptualised within an adaptational-continuum model of personality.