Forgotten Variables and Older Men in Custody: Negative Childhood Events, Forgiveness, and Religiosity

The study tested a mediational model linking negative childhood events through forgiveness of self and social support to religiosity using data from a convenience sample of 261 men aged 45–82 years residing behind prison walls. The Developmental Model of Adaptation provided the study's conceptual model for investigating the associations among the study variables. The study tested a mediational model linking the distal past (negative childhood events) to the outcome, religiosity, through forgiveness, and social support. The final model demonstrated the association of negative childhood events with religiosity through forgiveness of self (not forgiveness of others or situation) and social support. The study's findings suggest that at intake and during time in confinement, middle-aged and older men in prison should be assessed for and offered interventions aimed at helping them cope with the trauma of childhood events, achieve self-forgiveness, seek social support, and express religiosity as important for sustaining their well-being.

Gender Differences in Forgiveness and its Affective Correlates

Although women are believed to be more forgiving than men, the results of many studies comparing women with men vary. Moreover, little is known about unique correlates or differential patterns of experiencing forgiveness by gender. In the present study, we compared men and women in terms of their level of dispositional forgiveness and its emotional correlates, namely positive and negative affect, anxiety, and emotional control. The sample consisted of 625 individuals aged 19–69, of whom 478 (76.5%) were women and 147 (23.5%) were men. Polish versions of the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used. Men showed a higher level of general forgiveness and greater willingness to overcome unforgiveness than women, but there was no significant difference in positive facets of the disposition to forgive. In both genders negative affect, anxiety, and control of anger and of depression were negatively related to dimensions of dispositional forgiveness, and positive affect was positively associated with forgiveness. In females control of anxiety was negatively and in males it was positively related to facets of forgiveness. Gender moderated a number of links between affective traits and forgiveness of self and of situations beyond control, but not forgiveness of others.

Forgiveness of others and subsequent health and well-being in mid-life: a longitudinal study on female nurses

Background Forgiveness is a concept of growing interest within psychology and of potential relevance to public health. While there has been increasing evidence suggesting positive associations between forgiveness of others and a range of psychosocial well-being and mental health outcomes, its associations with health behaviors and physical health are less clear. Methods This study used longitudinal data from the Nurses’ Health Study II (2008 Trauma Exposure and Post-traumatic Stress Supplementary Survey to 2015 questionnaire wave, N = 54,703), to conduct an outcome-wide analysis among a cohort of female nurses in the United States (age range: 43–64 years). The study prospectively examines the association between spiritually motivated forgiveness of others and a number of of subsequent psychosocial well-being, mental health, health behavior, and physical health outcomes in midlife. A set of linear, logistic, and Poisson regression models were used to regress each outcome on forgiveness in separate models. Sociodemographic factors, prior religious service attendance, and prior values of all outcome variables were controlled for wherever data were available. To account for multiple testing, we performed Bonferroni correction. Results Forgiveness was associated with subsequent improved psychosocial well-being and reduced psychological distress outcomes in a monotonic pattern. For instance, the top versus bottom level of forgiveness was associated with substantially higher levels of subsequent positive affect (β = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.21) and social integration (β = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.13, 0.17), and was inversely associated with several indicators of subsequent psychological distress such as depressive symptoms (β = − 0.16, 95% CI: − 0.19, − 0.14). However, in this sample, there was little evidence that forgiveness was associated with health behaviors or physical health outcomes. Discussion This study suggests that forgiveness may be a health asset for promoting population mental health and psychosocial well-being, and moreover may also be understood as a good in itself. Further investigation on the dynamics between forgiveness and physical health is warranted to explore the discrepancy between the results here and some past research.

The Development Procedure of a Acehnese Forgiveness Scale

The purpose of the present study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure forgiveness of Aceh conflict victims. The construct of scale based on the forgiveness concept of Acehnese that known as Islamic culture. The Acehnese Forgiveness Scale (AFS) is a multi-dimensional tool assessing forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others, and forgiveness of situation. The test validity and reliability of Acehnese forgiveness scale on 101 conflict victims (30 males and 71 females), age 18 - 58 years old, 100% moeslim. Participants rate their responses on a 4-point scale, ranging from absolutely false to absolutely true. The construct of final scale were defined as: (1) forgiveness of self, (2) forgiveness of others, and (3) forgiveness of situations with total 28 items. This paper describes a four-stage procedure to develop the scale, data supporting the construct and first version of the instrument.

Attachment dimensions and forgiveness of others: A meta-analysis

Forgiveness, as a response to interpersonal transgressions, has multiple societal and individual benefits. Individual differences in attachment have been identified as a predictor not only of forgiveness but of state responses frequently associated with forgiveness. The current meta-analysis is the first systematic analysis of the effect of attachment dimensions (i.e., anxiety and avoidance) on forgiveness of others. Analysis of published and unpublished studies ( k = 26) identified significant, small-to-medium effects of attachment anxiety ( r = −.25) and attachment avoidance ( r = −.18) on forgiveness of others. No significant difference was obtained between measures of state and trait forgiveness. The moderating effects of study paradigm, attachment measure, publication type, and sample population were also investigated. The findings of a stable negative effect of insecure attachment dimensions on forgiveness of others provide a base for future research that may focus on reducing attachment anxiety and avoidance to support forgiveness.

PERAN SELF-ESTEEM DAN SELF-FORGIVENESS SEBAGAI PREDIKTOR SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING PADA PEREMPUAN DEWASA MUDA

Subjective well-being (SWB) merupakan gambaran kebahagiaan, kepuasaan hidup, dan gambaran afek positif-negatif individu. Self-esteem (penghargaan diri) dan self-forgiveness (penerimaan diri) merupakan dasar penilaian positif individu terhadap dirinya. Oleh sebab itu, penelitian ini dilakukan guna memperoleh peran self-esteem dan self-forgiveness sebagai prediktor SWB pada perempuan dewasa muda. Penelitian ini menggunakan tiga alat ukur, yakni Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), dan Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ). Penelitian ini juga hendak melihat seberapa besar peranan self-esteem dan self-forgiveness terhadap SWB. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kuantitatif dengan teknik non-probabilitysampling. Subjek dalam penelitian ini berjumlah 500 perempuan yang berusia 20 – 28 tahun, memiliki minimal pendidikan SMA/ sederajat, dan berdomisili di Jabodetabek. Seluruh data diolah dengan teknik explore (descriptive statistic) dan analyze (regression) menggunakan SPSS Statistic versi 24. Penelitian ini memperoleh hasil bahwa self-esteem dan self-forgiveness berperan secara signifikan sebagai prediktor SWB pada perempuan dewasa muda, yakni sebasar 53,8%. Berdasarkan besaran peran, self-esteem memiliki peran sebagai prediktor yang lebih besar dari self-forgiveness, yakni sebesar 52,5%. Sedangkan, self-forgiveness memiliki peran sebesar 17,9%. Bagi penelitian selanjutnya, jumlah partisipan dapat dikontrol secara merata agar memperoleh hasil yang lebih baik. Selain itu, dapat pula dilakukan intervensi pada partisipan yang memiliki self-esteem, self-forgiveness dan SWB yang cenderung rendah, sehingga peneliti dapat mengontrol dan melakukan follow-up. Penelitian selanjutnya juga dapat menguji forgiveness of others dan forgiveness of the situation, untuk melihat seberapa besar peran keduanya terhadap SWB.Meneliti pada rentang usia dewasa dewasa muda tengah (28 – 33 tahun)dan dewasa muda akhir (33 – 40 tahun) juga dapat diaplikasikan pada penelitian selanjutnya.Subjective well-being (SWB) is an image of happiness, life satisfaction, and an image of the individual’s positive and negative affects. Self-esteem and self-forgiveness are the basis for an individual's positive assessment of him/herself. Therefore, this study was conducted to obtain the role of self-esteem and self-forgiveness as predictors of SWB in young adult women. This study used three measuring instruments, namely Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ). This study also aims to discover the role of self-esteem and self-forgiveness towards SWB. This research is a quantitative study with non-probability sampling technique. Subjects in this study were 500 women aged 20-28 years, with minimum of high school / equivalent education level, and lived in Jabodetabek area. The data was processed by exploring (descriptive statistics) and analyzing (regression) techniques using SPSS Statistics version 24. This study shows that self-esteem and self-forgiveness play a significant role as predictors of SWB in young adult women, which is 53.8%. Based on the magnitude of the role, self-esteem is a greater predictor of SWB than self-forgiveness, equal to 52.5% with self-forgiveness equal to 17.9%. For further research, the number of participants can be made more even in order to obtain better results. In addition, intervention can also be conducted on participants with low self-esteem, self-forgiveness and SWB, so that researchers can conduct control and follow-up. Future studies may also examine forgiveness of others and forgiveness of the situation, in order to find out their contribution towards SWB. Research on middle young adults(28-33 years old) and late young adults (33-40 years) can also be applied in subsequent studies.

Evaluating the relationships among religion, social virtues, and meaning in life

There is growing evidence that a sense of meaning in life may emerge, in part, from the social relationships that people maintain. But it is not clear how the relationship between social ties and a sense of meaning might arise. The purpose of this study is to see if meaning in life is associated with three socially focused virtues: compassion, forgiveness of others, and providing social support to others. In the process, an effort is made to see if these social virtues arise from social relationships in religious institutions. Two main findings emerge from a recent nationwide survey. First, people who are more compassionate, more forgiving, and who help others more often have a stronger sense of meaning in life. Second, individuals who receive more spiritual support from fellow church members are more likely to adopt these social virtues. The theoretical basis of these relationships is discussed.