Thesis (Th. D.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1980. / Bibliography: leaves 223-235.

Thesis (M.A.)--Villanova University, 2007. / Theology and Religious Studies Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

Although its consequences can be devastating, revenge is surprisingly understudied. In this dissertation, I address several key questions. For example, are the factors that trigger revenge the same across different individuals? What are the psychological processes that facilitate revenge? Does revenge have any adaptive value? These issues were addressed with a series of three studies. Study 1 explored whether personality predictors of self-reported revenge generalize across four specific transgressions. Results indicated that narcissists were only vengeful after social rejection whereas psychopaths and neurotics tended to be vengeful across transgressions. Study 2 expanded on these results by exploring trait-level vengeful fantasies and vengeful behaviors and the impact of a potential mediator, namely, anger rumination. Neuroticism was shown to be predictive of vengeful fantasies: This association was entirely mediated by anger rumination. Psychopathy predicted vengeful behavior: This association was partially mediated by vengeful fantasies. Study 3 involved the analysis of participants' personal anecdotes about how they reacted to transgressions against them. Coded variables included revenge as well as 10 other coping behaviors: These 11 predictors were then evaluated with respect to their impact on both immediate relief and long-term recovery. Although the revenge option fostered immediate relief, it did not benefit long-term recovery. Only one coping behavior (meaning-making) actually fostered recovery. The contributions and limitations of this research plus suggestions for future studies are discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Persistent periods of stress exacerbate the symptoms of chronic illness. Additionally, loneliness is strongly correlated with stress and both state and trait anxiety. Prolonged periods of loneliness are linked with depression in both clinical and student samples. Forgiveness, a cognitive, emotional, and behavioral response to interpersonal or intrapersonal conflict, is important to social harmony. in this study I describe three studies that examine forgiveness, loneliness, stress, and anxiety in two populations, a student population and an HIV+ clinical population. Study 1 examined how the variables of forgiveness and loneliness are associated with perceived stress in a student sample of undergraduate students. Study 2 examined the same variables (forgiveness, loneliness, and perceived stress) in an HIV-positive clinical population. Finally, study 3 extends the model and examines the relationship of forgiveness and loneliness to variables related to stress, state and trait anxiety. for studies 2 and 3, 63 HIV-positive individuals participated in the cross-sectional correlational study. the data was analyzed in each study using hierarchical linear regression analysis. We also tested the models for the three studies to determine if forgiveness moderates the relationship between loneliness and state and trait anxiety. in study 1, using hierarchical linear regression analyses, I found that increased forgiveness and decreased loneliness was associated with less perceived stress in both a non-clinical and clinical sample of HIV-positive adults. in studies 2 and 3, I conducted hierarchical linear regression analyses and found that increased forgiveness contributed a significant portion of the variance in perceived stress and state and trait anxiety in a non-clinical and HIV-positive sample. I did not find moderation in any of the models.

Thesis advisor: Margaret E. Guider / Thesis advisor: Daniel J. Daly / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Aims: Forgiveness, a motivationally and volitionally unique method of coping, has been argued to be relevant to addiction and recovery. However, little empirical evidence exists in support thereof. Methods: As such, cross-sectional associations between dimensions of forgiveness (Fetzer) and drinking (AUDIT) were examined among college students (n = 721; ♀ = 516; Mage = 23) from the rural southern Appalachian region of the United States. Results: Using multiple regression analyses and independent of demographic variables and religiousness, while no forgiveness dimension was predictive of drinking in the first place (yesno), Feeling Forgiven by God predicted a decreased likelihood of problematic drinking (NonOK drinking vs. problematic drinking). Further, among problematic drinkers (n = 126; ♀ = 75; Mage = 22), Feeling Forgiven by God predicted fewer alcohol-related problems and Forgiveness of Self predicted lower HALT scores, all with medium effect sizes. Forgiveness of Others was not associated with the alcohol-related variables. Conclusions: Of the dimensions of forgiveness measured, it appears that Feeling Forgiven by God may be most important in the context of drinking and problems therewith, while Forgiveness of Self may be most important in the context of relapse prevention.

Both meaning in life and forgiveness have been shown to separately contribute to better mental health. However, no prior research examined the linkage between meaning in life and forgiveness. This quantitative study was therefore to identify if there was a relationship between meaning in life, as measured by the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), and overall dispositional forgiveness, dispositional forgiveness of self, dispositional forgiveness of others, and dispositional forgiveness of situations, as measured by the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS). Survey data were gathered from 250 college students in Western Canada, and multiple linear regression controlling for sociodemographic factors was used. The results showed a relationship between meaning in life and 3 out of the 4 variables. A significant relationship was found between meaning in life and dispositional forgiveness, dispositional forgiveness of situations, and overall dispositional forgiveness. There was no relationship found between meaning in life and dispositional forgiveness of others. These findings may be explained by extant literature suggesting differences in both cognitions and emotions between self forgiveness, other forgiveness, and overall forgiveness. Mental health professionals applying therapeutic intervention options that incorporate these 2 constructs may help to precipitate social change in terms of the treatment and management of mental health, especially with respect to the potential to improve treatment options for depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and anger. Improved treatment interventions and options for individuals can potentially lead to increased employability, reduction in crime, better school attendance and performance, and overall improved physical health across the lifespan.

Thesis advisor: Gregory Fried / The topic of resentment has experienced a resurgence recently in various fields (philosophy of race, moral psychology, transitional justice, critical theory and political philosophy). The republication and English translation of Jean Améry's work Jenseits von Schuld und Sühne: Bewältigungsversuche eines Überwältigten [Beyond Guilt and Atonement: The Effort to Overcome by One Who Has Been Overcome], better known now as At the Mind's Limit: Contemplations by a Survivor on Auschwitz and its Realities, is in large part credited for such a resurgence. Much of the literature takes Améry's chapter on “Resentments” as being geared towards establishing an “embodied ethic of resistance” which defies the “hegemony” of forgiveness in the Western tradition. What I argue is that Améry's own usage of the term implies a plurality of meanings, which itself forces us to go beyond this discussion. As we explore each facet of his Resentments, we come to see that it is only through a larger conceptual framework that we can make sense of their plurality and as well as what is ultimately at stake for Améry in them. Through doing so we can see that Améry's “resentments” are much more oriented towards establishing what Arendt defines precisely as “forgiveness”: an action which requires a radical re-conception of time and a re-presentation of the past within the present, directed towards the future. This dissertation will show how accepting the virtues of Améry's Resentment does not require forgoing forgiveness as a political concept, even in the context of genocide. In contradistinction to some of the literature on Arendt, it will also show that even in such circumstances, when punishment is impossible or inadequate, the virtues of Arendt's conception of forgiveness still shine forth. In fact, counter to what we might initially assume to be a limit of forgiveness, it is in the context of genocide that we can see the real possibility of “power”—as Arendt defines it within the context of the potential of people coming together to create something new—through the process of “forgiveness” writ large on the world stage. The limits of forgiveness come to appear as the conditions of its possibility. We will illustrate how Resentment and “forgiveness” in fact exist in a complementary relationship which binds them together. Améry's “resentments” manifest themselves as a call for repentance, but also in the realization of a need for such a call to be answered in turn. This call is not limited to the capacity to punish. We will conclude with an exploration of how ‘Resentments,’ ultimately guided towards reconciliation and processes of communal forgiveness, can be understood as serving a vital function in contemporary contexts of post-conflict and post-genocide societies. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.

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While advancements in treatment have made HIV a more manageable disease, only recently have psychosocial variables associated with the health of persons living with HIV (PLH) began to receive increased scrutiny. HIV-related stigma, considered by some researchers to be a “second epidemic,” is one such psychosocial variable and is associated with negative physiological and psychological health outcomes. In an effort to alleviate the effects of stress, increased research attention has focused on forgiveness as a teachable coping strategy. Current forgiveness interventions demonstrate encouraging results in decreasing anger and neutralizing stress but have not been applied to HIV-positive populations. In this study, Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping (1984) and Prochaska and Velicer’s transtheoretical model of health behavior (1997) were utilized as theoretical frameworks to inform a randomized clinical trial that examines coping skills, particularly forgiveness, in PLH and perceived HIV-related stigma. An ethnically diverse sample of HIV-positive adults (n = 57) was randomized into a treatment or control group. The treatment group participated in six weeks of cognitive-behavioral group therapy that focused on the teaching of forgiveness as an effective coping tool while the control group was psychoeducational in nature and did not involve mention of forgiveness. Data was obtained on a variety of medical and psychosocial variables, including types of forgiveness (dispositional forgiveness, forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others, and forgiveness of situations) and perceived HIV-related stigma. Data were collected at three time points: at baseline (Time 1) prior to randomization of participants to the treatment or control group, immediately post intervention (Time 2), and at six-month follow-up (Time 3). Importantly, forgiveness was shown to be a teachable skill that PLH can use to potentially improve mental health. Men in the treatment group reported significantly higher levels of dispositional forgiveness and self-forgiveness than men in the control group at six-month follow up. Additionally, self-forgiveness at Time 1 and self-forgiveness at Time 3 significantly accounted for 34% and 28% of the variance, respectively, in HIV-related stigma at Time 3. Though self-forgiveness was shown to be better than forgiveness of others in predicting HIV-related stigma, the forgiveness intervention was not effective in reducing overall HIV-related stigma in PLH. HIV-related stigma is likely more complex than originally conceptualized. Implications and future directions in improving interventions to mitigate HIV-related stigma are discussed.