Do Forgiveness Campaign Activities Improve Forgiveness, Mental Health, and Flourishing?

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a forgiveness public health intervention at promoting forgiveness, mental health, and flourishing. Methods: Colombian students (N = 2,878) at a private, nonreligious university were exposed to a 4-week forgiveness community campaign and were assessed pre- and post-campaign. Results: Forgiveness, mental health, and flourishing outcomes showed improvements after the campaign. On average, participants reported engaging in 7.18 (SD = 3.99) of the 16 types of campaign activities. The number of types of campaign activities that participants engaged in evidenced a positive linear association with forgiveness, although some activities were more popular than others and some activities were more strongly associated with increased forgiveness. For depression, anxiety, and flourishing, engaging in more activities was generally associated with greater improvements, but the patterns were less consistent relative to forgiveness. Conclusion: This forgiveness public health intervention effectively promoted forgiveness, mental health, and flourishing. Effective campaigns in diverse communities involve promoting mental and physical health through forgiveness. However, recent conflict may hinder acceptance, necessitating political capital for leadership advocating forgiveness initiatives.

Beyond Parental Acceptance and Rejection: A Commentary on the Findings From Empirical Studies on Forgiveness and Vengeance in the Muslim World.

Drawing on the framework of interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPARTheory), this special issue edited by Ronald P. Rohner, Sumbleen Ali, and Jennifer E. Lansford explores forgiveness and vengeance within the context of the Muslim world. Examination of the precursors of forgiveness and vengeance holds significance because vengeance typically correlates with adverse physical and psychological health outcomes. We suggest ways to advance research outlined in the special issue, such as assessing cross-cultural invariance and using diverse research designs. Moreover, increasing the diversity of socioeconomic status in studies conducted in the Muslim world and exploring hypotheses in high-income countries are necessary for contextually nuanced research. Overall, this special issue offers valuable insights into the dynamics of forgiveness and vengeance and highlights the role of culture and gender on psychological well-being across diverse contexts.

Associations between forgiveness and physical and mental health in the context of long COVID.

OBJECTIVE: Forgiveness has been positively associated with health in those with functional disorders. This cross-sectional study examined the relationships among dimensions of forgiveness and physical and mental health in individuals with and without long COVID. METHODS: Adults (N = 4316) in the United States took part in an online survey study detailing long COVID presence, physical and mental health, and trait forgiveness. T-tests were performed to assess differences in types of trait forgiveness between individuals with and without long COVID. Linear regression models assessed the contribution of demographic covariates and forgiveness subscales to the physical and mental health of individuals with and without long COVID. RESULTS: Of 4316 participants, 379 (8.8%) reported current long COVID. Participants were an average age of 43.7, and most identified as female (51.9%), white (87.8%), and non-Hispanic/Latino (86.6%). Individuals with long COVID reported significantly less forgiveness of self (p < 0.001, d = 0.33), forgiveness of others (p = 0.004, d = 0.16), and forgiveness of situations (p < 0.001, d = 0.34) than those without long COVID. Among the long COVID sample, forgiveness of self and situations were positively associated with mental health (p < 0.05), but not physical health (p > 0.05). Forgiveness of others was negatively associated with both physical and mental health (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Forgiveness may be an important consideration in understanding health among individuals with long COVID, emphasizing the importance of developing a multifaceted understanding of the condition.

Expanding the cross-cultural validity of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory short form.

This research assessed the cross-cultural validity and internal consistency of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory short form (EFI-30). A total of 1677 people across four countries (United States, the Philippines, China and Saudi Arabia) participated in the study. Data analysis relied on multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and assessments of internal consistency. The results indicated that the EFI-30 has the same structure and factor loadings in the four countries and that internal consistency for the EFI-30 factors was >0.80 in the four countries. The discrimination values suggest that the instrument can differentiate people with different levels of forgiveness. The analyses in this study indicate that the EFI-30 is a valid and reliable assessment of cognition, behaviour and affect related to forgiveness in the United States, the Philippines, China and Saudi Arabia. Clinicians working in these countries can confidently use this shorter version of the EFI to measure forgiveness.

Relations among Memories of Parental Acceptance-Rejection, Psychological (Mal)Adjustment, Forgiveness, and Vengeance among Iranian Adults.

The study investigated relations among adults' memories of parental acceptance-rejection in childhood and adults' current dispositions toward forgiveness and vengeance, as mediated by psychological (mal)adjustment. Data were collected from 258 adults (female = 183, Age range = 17-47 years; Mage = 39; SD = 11.4). Measures used were the short forms of the maternal and paternal Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaires (PARQ), the short form of the Adult Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ), the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), the Vengeance Scale (VS-10), and a Personal Information Form (PIF). Results showed that maternal and paternal rejection was positively associated with psychological maladjustment and negatively correlated with forgiveness for both men and women. Moreover, psychological maladjustment showed a negative relation with forgiveness and a positive relation with vengeance. Findings revealed that parental (maternal and paternal) rejection was not significantly associated with vengeance for men. However, maternal (not paternal) rejection was significantly associated with a vengeance for women. Path analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of maternal and paternal rejection on forgiveness and vengeance through psychological maladjustment. Results found no significant gender differences in the path analyses. Findings are discussed considering the Iranian culture and religious beliefs. Implications of the results and future research directions are discussed.

Relations of Parental Acceptance-Rejection and Psychological (Mal)Adjustment with Forgiveness and Vengeance among Bangladeshi Young Adults.

The study investigated whether adults' memories of parental acceptance-rejection in childhood predict their current levels of forgiveness and vengeance as mediated by psychological (mal)adjustment. The data were collected from 252 young adults (Women = 137, Men = 115, Age range = 18 - 22 years; Mage = 19.42; SD = 0.99). Measures used were the Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) short form for fathers and mothers, the Adult Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) short form for adults, the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), the Vengeance Scale (VS-10), and the Personal Information Form. Mediation analysis indicated that memories of maternal and paternal rejection predicted vengeance as mediated by psychological maladjustment among both men and women. Further, women's and men's memories of parental (both maternal and paternal) acceptance predicted forgiveness as mediated by psychological adjustment.

Compreensão de crianças e pré-adolescentes sobre forças de caráter: um estudo qualitativo / La comprensión de niños y pre-adolescentes sobre las fortalezas de carácter: un estudio cualitativo / Children and pre-adolescents' comprehension of character strengths: a qualitative study

RESUMO. Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar o conhecimento de crianças e pré-adolescentes em relação aos termos que designam as forças de caráter e compreender como percebem a expressão desses traços nos próprios comportamentos e nos de outras pessoas. Foram entrevistados 17 participantes, de oito a 13 anos (M = 10,6; DP = 1,5). Para cada força foram feitas sete perguntas, que investigavam a definição do termo e exemplos da expressão da força nos outros e nos próprios entrevistados. As entrevistas foram gravadas e transcritas para análise de conteúdo, ao fim gerando categorias para cada força. As forças descritas com maior facilidade pelos participantes e suas respectivas definições foram criatividade (capacidade de criar coisas), curiosidade e amor ao aprendizado (busca de conhecimento e novas experiências), honestidade (falar a verdade), amor (comportamento de dar carinho), bondade (ajudar e cuidar do outro), trabalho em equipe (realização de trabalhos colaborativos em brincadeiras ou atividades escolares), perdão (08 categorias a respeito de sua definição, sem destaque para alguma) e esperança (desejar acontecimento futuro). Esses achados podem tornar mais acessível o desenvolvimento e a avaliação das forças nessa faixa etária.

RESUMEN. Este estudio buscó analizar el conocimiento de niños y pre-adolescentes sobre los términos que fueron designados como fortalezas de carácter, y comprender cómo perciben estos rasgos en sus proprios comportamientos y en los de otras personas. Diecisiete participantes entre ocho y trece años fueron entrevistados (M = 10.6; SD = 1.5). Para cada fortaleza, se hicieron siete preguntas, que investigaron la definición del término y ejemplos prácticos de su expresión. Las entrevistas fueron grabadas y transcritas para el análisis de contenido, creando categorías para cada fortaleza. Las fortalezas descritas por los participantes con mayor facilidad y sus respectivas definiciones fueron: creatividad (capacidad de crear cosas), curiosidad y amor por el aprendizaje (búsqueda de conocimiento y nuevas experiencias), honestidad (decir la verdad), amor (comportamientos afectivos), amabilidad (ayudar y cuidar a los demás), trabajo en equipo (desempeño del trabajo colaborativo en juegos o actividades escolares), perdón (ocho categorías con respecto a su definición, sin énfasis en ninguna) y esperanza (deseo por un evento futuro). Estos hallazgos pueden facilitar el desarrollo y la evaluación de las fortalezas con este grupo de edad.

ABSTRACT This study aims to analyze the children and pre-adolescents' knowledge regarding terms that designate character strengths and to understand how they perceive the expression of these traits in their and other people's behavior. Seventeen participants aged eight to thirteen were interviewed (M = 10.6; SD = 1.5). For each strength, seven questions were asked, which investigated the definition and examples of the strength expression. The interviews were recorded and transcribed for content analysis, generating categories for each strength. The strengths most easily described by the participants and their respective definitions were: creativity (ability to create things), curiosity and love for learning (searching for knowledge and new experiences), honesty (speaking the truth), love (acts involving affection), kindness (helping and caring for others), teamwork (collaborative works in games or school activities), forgiveness (eight categories regarding their definition, without highlighting any) and hope (longing for a future event). These findings may make developing and evaluating character strengths in this age group more accessible.

Memories of Parental Acceptance and Rejection Predict Forgiveness and Vengeance in the Muslim World: Introduction and Overview.

The studies in this special issue on forgiveness and vengeance in the Muslim world explore three hypotheses drawn from interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPARTheory): (1) Adults' memories of maternal and paternal acceptance in childhood are associated with the disposition toward forgiveness, as mediated by psychological adjustment. (2) Adults' memories of maternal and paternal rejection in childhood are associated with the disposition toward vengeance, as mediated by psychological maladjustment. (3) There are no significant gender differences in relations between adults' (men's and women's) memories of parental acceptance-rejection in childhood and adults' disposition toward forgiveness or vengeance, as mediated by psychological (mal)adjustment. Results of most studies reported here conclude that memories of parental (maternal and paternal) acceptance in childhood are significantly related to men's and women's disposition toward forgiveness and vengeance as mediated by psychological (mal)adjustment. However, gender and cultural differences also sometimes appear as significant contributors.

Relations among Memories of Parental Acceptance-Rejection, Psychological (Mal)Adjustment, Forgiveness, and Vengeance among Turkish Adults.

The study investigated relations among memories of parental (maternal and paternal) acceptance-rejection, forgiveness, and vengeance, as mediated by psychological (mal)adjustment. The sample consists of 323 Turkish adults (50% females; Age range: 18-61 years; Mage = 35.73, SD = 10.41) from Istanbul, Turkiye. Participants responded to mother and father versions of the adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (adult PARQ; short form), the adult Personality Assessment Questionnaire (adult PAQ; short form), the Heartland Forgiveness Scale, the Vengeance Scale, and the Personal Information Form. The results showed that both men and women remembered their parents as substantially warm and accepting during childhood and self-reported having fair psychological adjustment. Men and women were found to be equally likely to be forgiving as unforgiving and reported no dispositions toward vengeance. However, men reported higher levels of vengeance as compared to women. Psychological adjustment mediated the relations between parental acceptance and forgiveness, while psychological maladjustment mediated the relations between parental rejection and vengefulness for women and men. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Relations among Parental Acceptance-Rejection and Forgiveness and Vengeance: A Comparison between Pakistani Madrassa and Public School Students.

This study investigated relations among adolescents' perceptions of parental acceptance and rejection, psychological (mal)adjustment, forgiveness, and vengeance in the predominantly Muslim country of Pakistan. Participants included adolescent males (Mage = 17, SD = 1.4, range = 15-19) from madrassas (educational institutions for Islamic instruction; n = 355) and public schools (n = 355). They responded to short forms of the maternal and paternal Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaires (PARQ), the Adult Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ), the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), the Vengeance Scale (VS-10), and a Personal Information Form (PIF). Findings revealed that both the madrassa students and the public school students perceived their mothers (but not their fathers) to be warm and loving. The adolescents also reported fair psychological adjustment, and on average, were forgiving and non-vengeful. However, madrassa students reported perceiving their parents-especially their mothers-as more loving and accepting than did public school students. Additionally, madrassa students reported better psychological adjustment, a greater tendency to be forgiving, and a lesser tendency to be vengeful than did public school students. Maternal and paternal rejection were positively correlated with psychological maladjustment and vengeance, whereas maternal and paternal acceptance were associated with psychological adjustment and forgiveness among both groups of students. Psychological adjustment was a significant mediator of the relation between parental acceptance and the disposition toward forgiveness for both groups. Psychological maladjustment was not a significant mediator between paternal rejection and vengeance among madrassa students, but not public school students. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Interpersonal forgiveness: validation of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI-30) in aSpanish sample / Perdón interpersonal: validación del Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI-30) en una muestra española

Antecedentes: Diversos estudios demuestran la relevancia del per-dón interpersonal tras una ofensa para mejorar la salud y el bienestar. A pe-sar de su importancia, es evidente la falta de instrumentos de evaluación del perdón adaptados al contexto español. El Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI-30) es el instrumento que operacionaliza uno de los modelos teóricos más asentados y reconocidos en el área del perdón a nivel mundial. El obje-tivo del presente estudio es adaptar el EFI-30 a la población española y re-visar suspropiedades psicométricas. Método: 426 estudiantes de grado y más-ter (98 hombres y 328 mujeres) con edades entre 18 y 30 años (M= 21.24; DE= 2.91), completaron el EFI-30 tras su adaptación, así como Trans-gression Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory (TRIM-18), Reme-dial Strategies Scale (RSS) y Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Resultados: El Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio indicó buen ajuste a la estructura original de seis factores (CFI=.91, TLI=.90, IFI=.91, RMSEA= .067). La fiabilidad de las subescalas y del instrumento general fue buena, similar a la versión original. Los resultados mostraron adecuada validez convergente y de criterio. Conclusiones:EFI-30 muestra adecuadas propiedades psicométricas en un contexto español, siendo una medida apropiada para evaluar el perdón interpersonal de una ofensa especifica en al ámbito de la investigación e intervención clínica.(AU)

Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated the im-portance of interpersonal forgiveness after a specific offense for improving the health and well-being of individuals. Despite its importance, there is an evident lack of forgiveness evaluation instruments adapted to the Spanish context. The Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI-30) is the questionnaire that implements one of themost establishedand recognized theoretical models in thearea offorgiveness. The aim of the present study is to adapt the EFI-30 for the Spanish population and evaluate its psychometric prop-erties. Method: A sample of 426 undergraduate and graduate students (98 men, 328 women) aged from 18 to 30 years (M= 21.24; SD=2.91), com-pleted the EFI-30 after its adaptation to the Spanishcontext, as well as the Transgression Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory (TRIM-18), the Remedial Strategies Scale (RSS) and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results: The Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed a good fit tothe original six-factor structure (CFI=.91, TLI=.90, IFI=.91, RMSEA= .067). The reliability of these subscales and the instrument was similar to the original version. The results showed adequate criteria and convergent validity. Conclusions:The EFI-30 shows adequatepsycho-metric properties within the Spanish context and is an appropriate instru-ment for evaluating interpersonal forgiveness of a specific offense in re-search and clinical intervention.(AU)

Inner Peace needs of male psychiatric patients in post-war Croatia are associated with their needs to clarify open issues in their life and their needs for forgiveness.

Background: More than 25 years after the end of the Balkan war, many people belonging to the post-war population are still traumatized by the war events and have been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder or other psychiatric diagnoses. We were interested in their Inner Peace needs, how these relate to indicators of mental health, and their needs to clarify open processes in their lives and to forgive and be forgiven. Materials and methods: In a cross-sectional survey with standardized questionnaires (i.e., SpNQ, PCL-M, HADS, and BMLSS), 638 male patients who were treated in seven psychiatric centers in Croatia were enrolled. 68% were diagnosed with PTSD and 32% had other psychiatric diagnoses. Most had actively participated in the Balkan war (79%), and 60% for the whole war period. Results: Strong needs to "immerse into beauty of nature" were stated by 47%, to "dwell at a place of quietness and peace" by 66%, and to "find inner peace" by 57%. These Inner Peace needs were highest in men treated with PTSD diagnoses as compared to men with other psychiatric diagnoses and were slightly lower in men who were active during the whole war period as compared to shorter phases of war participation. Regression analyses with Inner Peace needs as a dependent variable revealed that Clarification/Forgiveness needs were the best predictor, with further influences of PTSD symptoms and life satisfaction, explaining altogether 49% of the variance. The best predictors of their PTSD symptoms were life satisfaction, perceived burden, depressive symptoms, Inner Peace needs, religious trust, and duration of war participation, explaining 60% of the variance. Conclusion: In Croatian male war participants in clinical treatment decades after the war, Inner Peace needs indicate their ongoing intention to let go of their disturbing experiences and to find states of inner peace, particularly at specific places of quietness and peace. These needs can be considered metaphors for longing for wholeness, integrity, and safety, in contrast to the ongoing impact of unresolved issues. Thus, apart from psychotherapeutic treatment, sheltered places of nature, inspiration, and reconciliation might be elements to improve the difficult situation of post-war victims still suffering from their experiences.

Perampanel's forgiveness factor in a variable medication adherence paradigm in a rat model of chronic epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: Poor medication adherence contributes to increased morbidity and mortality in patients with epilepsy and may be under-addressed in clinical practice. Ethical concerns make it impossible to study the impact of medication nonadherence in clinical trials, but our previous work emphasizes the importance of using preclinical approaches to address these questions. With over 30 clinically available antiseizure medicines (ASM's), it remains an important question to understand the relationship between poor adherence and seizure incidence across mechanistically distinct ASM's, including the broad-spectrum ASM, perampanel (PER). METHODS: We formulated PER into chow pellets to deliver to rats in a 100% fully adherent or 50% variable nonadherent paradigm via our novel automated medication-in-food delivery system. Chronic oral dosing was initiated in male rats with chronic epilepsy while monitoring 24/7 for videoEEG evidence of seizures during a 4-week placebo baseline and 4-week treatment phase. PER concentrations were monitored in plasma at 1-week intervals and correlated with degree of seizure control. The relationship between missed doses and extended patterns of nonadherence were correlated with breakthrough seizures. RESULTS: Fully adherent rats demonstrated a median reduction in seizure frequency of 50%, whereas nonadherent rats had a median increase of 54%. Plasma concentrations of PER were stable over the 4-week treatment period in both fully adherent and nonadherent groups, with levels being twice as high in fully adherent animals. There was no correlation between a single missed dose or series of missed doses and the incidence of breakthrough seizures. However, those animals in the nonadherent group that received PER for every meal during a 24-h period had a reduced likelihood of seizure incidence. CONCLUSIONS: If our preclinical data is supported in the clinic, PER's favorable pharmacokinetic profile in humans, combined with a lowered risk of breakthrough seizures suggests that it may provide a certain forgiveness factor if a dose is missed within a 24-h window.

Forgive or complain: Interpersonal distance modulates reactive attitudes and neural responses toward wrongdoers.

While the effect of interpersonal distance on forgiveness has been investigated over the past few years, it remains unclear whether this facilitating effect holds even when measured implicitly. Meanwhile, though cognitive control and the corresponding prefrontal cortex play a prominent role in forgiveness processing, the neural mechanism underlying forgiveness toward varied wrongdoers is largely unexplored. Here, forty-two participants initially underwent noise offense either from their friend or stranger, followed by a word identification test to examine their implicit attitude, during which they were presented with word-name combinations and required to categorize forgive- or complain-label words while ignoring the names of their friends or strangers below. A shorter reaction time reflects more congruence with one's implicit attitude. Electroencephalogram was recorded during the word identification test. Behaviorally, while individuals reacted faster to forgive-friend relative to complain-friend pairings, no such reaction bias was found for the stranger-wrongdoer, which suggests that individuals were more inclined to forgive someone close. Regarding the EEG/ERP results, forgive-friend elicited lower alpha oscillation and more negative frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) value than complain-friend combinations, suggesting increased and dominant activity in the right prefrontal network during forgiveness toward friends. Whereas complain- relative to forgive-stranger combinations elicited larger P3 amplitudes, suggesting a neural encoding bias to information associated with complaints about stranger-wrongdoer. These multimodal findings provide evidence for the benefits of closeness in forgiveness and shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying forgiveness toward different types of wrongdoers.

Forgive, Let Go, and Stay Well! The Relationship between Forgiveness and Physical and Mental Health in Women and Men: The Mediating Role of Self-Consciousness.

BACKGROUND: The current study assessed forgiveness (positive forgiveness and reduced unforgiveness), self-consciousness (rumination and reflection), and physical and mental health. The aim of the study was to check if self-consciousness mediates the relationship between dispositional forgiveness and health. METHODS: To address this link, we conducted 2 studies (N = 484 in Study 1 and N = 249 in Study 2). Data were collected separately for Study 1, as well as Study 2. We used in both studies the Heartland Forgiveness Scale and the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire, and additionally, the General Health Questionnaire-28 in Study 1 and the Scales of Psychological Well-Being in Study 2. RESULTS: The results indicated that rumination was an effective mediator between positive forgiveness and mental health (B = 0.14, CI95% = [0.064, 0.234]), reduced unforgiveness and physical health (B = -0.13, CI95% = [-0.182, -0.088]), and both rumination and reflection between reduced unforgiveness and mental health (B = 0.13 CI95% = [0.051, 0.226]), positive forgiveness (B = -0.09 CI95% = [-0.135, -0.052]), and physical health. CONCLUSION: The mediating role of ruminations was more frequently observed in females. The study highlighted the indirect effect between forgiveness and health. Rumination and reflection are mediators between forgiveness and health.

The role of men's forgiveness in marital satisfaction and coping strategies of infertile iranian women.

BACKGROUND: Infertility and its related problems create tensions in infertile women, which may lead to reduced marital satisfaction and the use of ineffective coping strategies. Considering the important role of forgiveness, marital satisfaction and effective coping strategies in the quality of life of infertile couples, and taking into account the growing number of Iranian infertile couples, this study was conducted to determine the relationship between men's forgiveness, marital satisfaction, and coping strategies of infertile Iranian women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 200 Iranian infertile couples. The research environment was the most equipped infertility center in the west of Iran. Sampling was continuous. Data collection tools used included a self-generated demographic and fertility questionnaire, the Family Forgiveness Scale (FFS), the Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS), and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire-revised (WOCQ-R). RESULTS: Husbands' forgiveness had a significant direct relationship with the marital satisfaction of infertile women (r = -0.27, p < 0.001). However, there was no significant correlation between Husbands' forgiveness, emotion-focused, and problem-focused coping of infertile women. Among the subscales of forgiveness, only the subscale of recognition had inversely correlated with the emotional coping of infertile women. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the higher the forgiveness of husbands, the higher the marital satisfaction of infertile women. Also, with the increase of husbands' forgiveness in the recognition subscale, the use of emotion-focused coping decreased in infertile women. Based on the results with empowering the husbands of infertile women with forgiveness skills, it is possible to take a step towards marital satisfaction and thus improve the quality of life of infertile women.

The effects of exposure to physical and emotional violence from partners on psychological resilience, forgiveness, happiness, life satisfaction, and depression level in Turkish women.

The data of this descriptive and correlational study were collected from 583 women between October 2021 and December 2021 with information form, Brief Resilience Scale, Oxford Happiness Scale-Short Form, Epidemiological Research Center Depression Scale, Heartland Forgiveness Scale, and Life Satisfaction Scale. There is a statistically significant difference between the resilience, happiness, and life satisfaction levels of women exposed to physical violence from their partners and the presence of depression (p < .001). A statistically significant difference was found between the presence of depression and resilience, happiness, and life satisfaction (p < .001) and forgiveness (p = .004) in women who were exposed to emotional violence from their partners. While resilience, happiness, and life satisfaction levels decreased in women who were exposed to physical violence from their partners, the incidence of depression increased. While the presence of depression increased in women who were exposed to emotional violence from their partners, the level of resilience, happiness, life satisfaction, and forgiveness decreased.

The Relationship Between Forgiveness and Health Outcomes Among People Living with HIV: A Cross-Sectional Study in France.

Research to date has shown that HIV infection is a highly stressful experience for individuals, and one of the key adaptive resources after such painful experiences may be forgiveness. The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between dispositional forgiveness (assessed using Mullet's Forgivingness Questionnaire and Toussaint's Forgiveness Scale), perceived stress (single-item measure of stress symptoms), health perception (EuroQol visual analogue version of the scale) and life satisfaction (Satisfaction With Life Scale) in people living with HIV (PLWH) in France. Paper surveys were completed by 222 PLWH aged 18-78 (57% male). Multiple regression analysis revealed that sensitivity to circumstances, unconditional forgiveness, self-forgiveness, and forgiveness of others were significant predictors of health and happiness. Mediation analysis showed that these relationships are completely mediated by perceived stress. The present findings suggest that forgiveness and perceived stress may be important variables for healing in PLWH. Interventions designed to improve forgiveness and self-forgiveness may result in improved health and life satisfaction in PLWH.

Relationships between mastery, forgiveness, optimism, and resilience, and PTSD and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating emotional consequences. The present study aimed to examine the relationships between personal resources and emotional distress while accounting for COVID-19-related variables. Seven hundred and seventy-seven (N = 777) participants completed demographic, mastery, forgiveness, optimism, resilience, PTSD, and anxiety questionnaires. A stepped hierarchical multiple regression revealed that mastery, forgiveness, cultural group, age, acquaintance with a person who died of COVID-19, and having been infected with COVID-19 contributed significantly to the explained variance in PTSD symptoms. Mastery, forgiveness, optimism, age, and acquaintance with a person who died of COVID-19 contributed significantly to the explained variance in anxiety. However, resilience was not found to significantly contribute to the explained variance in PTSD symptoms or anxiety. This study demonstrates the importance of being aware of both PTSD symptoms and anxiety associated with COVID-19. Thus, it is suggested that therapy programs should pay special attention to mastery and forgiveness as coping resources. In addition, among medical and mental-health personnel awareness should be given to individuals who have been in close acquaintance with those who died of COVID-19, those with COVID-19 risk factors, and those who have been infected. Special attention should also be paid to minority groups as they might tend to experience more emotional distress and trauma symptoms.

Bright side of the MAOA-uVNTR on trait and situational forgiveness.

The stress-and-coping theory of forgiveness posits that forgiveness and aggression are alternative ways of coping with stress of interpersonal offences. Inspired by the link between aggression and MAOA-uVNTR (a genetic variant involving in catabolism of monoamines), we investigated the relationship between this variant and forgiveness with two studies. Study 1 examined the relationship between the MAOA-uVNTR and trait forgiveness in students, and study 2 examined the effect of this variant on third-party forgiveness in response to situational offences in male inmates. The results showed that the MAOA-H (a high activity allele) was associated with higher trait forgiveness in male students and greater third-party forgiveness to accidentally committed harm and attempted but failed harm in male inmates than the MAOA-L. These findings highlight the bright side of MAOA-uVNTR on trait and situational forgiveness.