The present study aimed to connect the research on mothers’ forgiveness, mothers’ negative mood symptoms and well-being, and children’s psychosocial outcomes. It also examined the mediating effect of mothers’ negative mood symptoms and well-being on the relationship between mothers’ forgiveness and children’s psychosocial outcomes. 152 pairs of mother-child dyads participated in the study. It was found that mothers’ dispositional forgiveness, as assessed by the Heartland Forgiveness Scale, was related to children’s externalising syndromes, specifically aggressive behaviours, and social and attention problems on the CBCL. These relationships between maternal forgivingness and children’s psychosocial outcomes were mediated by mothers’ negative mood symptoms, in particular stress, while maternal well-being was not found to be a significant mediator. The relationship between mothers’ forgiveness and children’s psychosocial outcomes, and the mediating role of maternal stress in this relationship, were discussed. Implications for parenting programmes to facilitate children’s psychosocial outcomes, and future directions were also proposed. / published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy / Psychological Sciences / Laura A. Brannon / Previous research suggests that college-age students, namely first-year college individuals, are particularly prone to experience relational conflict. Interpersonal forgiveness has been well-documented as a variable that can reduce relational conflict among young adults. However, limited empirical research to date has explored the motivation and ability of college-age students to engage in forgiveness granting behaviors when they are the victim of an interpersonal conflict; this lack of empirical research is especially prevalent when considering the perpetrator’s perspective and why (motivation) and how (ability) perpetrators engage in forgiveness seeking behaviors following conflict. Given this gap in previous research, the current dissertation assessed forgiveness granting and forgiveness seeking behaviors for victims and perpetrators of an interpersonal transgression, respectively. Using attitude and behavioral change models as theoretical guides, we exposed young adults to a message pertaining to reasons/motivations for why they should engage in forgiveness behaviors as well as two training techniques (i.e. mindfulness and implementation planning) that may promote the ability to express granting/seeking forgiveness. Study 1 focused on naturalistic, self-reported transgression experiences occurring within close relationships, while Study 2 focused on a standardized transgression experience occurring in a lab setting. Across these two studies, we found that participants who were exposed to reasons/motives for forgiveness as well as a mindfulness or implementation planning technique were more likely to engage in forgiveness grating/seeking behaviors than participants who were not exposed to this information. Furthermore, results suggest that the participants’ mood and attitudes toward forgiveness granting/seeking were enhanced by receiving both a message and a training technique. These results were especially pronounced for victims in the mindfulness training conditions for both Study 1 and Study 2. Overall, our results suggest that receiving both a message emphasizing motives/reasons for forgiveness as well as an easy to implement technique may assist young adults in alleviating severe interpersonal conflict (Study 1) as well as every day, slight transgressions (Study 2). The findings from Study 1 and Study 2 add unique knowledge to previous forgiveness literature and help to inform previous research about the process victims and perpetrators undergo when engaging in forgiveness following relational conflict.

Hui Ka Ying Victoria. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-50). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.ii / List of Tables --- p.v / Lists of Figures --- p.vi / Chapter CHAPTER ONE: --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / A Theoretical Model for Maintaining Relationships --- p.1 / Cultural Differences in Relationship Repair --- p.10 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO: --- METHOD --- p.15 / Participants --- p.15 / Procedure --- p.15 / Measures --- p.16 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE: --- RESULTS --- p.19 / Data Analyses --- p.19 / Testing the Measurement Model --- p.19 / Reliabilities and Correlations --- p.19 / Testing the Structural Model --- p.20 / Chapter CHAPTER 4: --- DISCUSSION --- p.35 / Cultural General Model regarding the Dynamics of Change in Relationship Quality / following Harm --- p.35 / Further Studies --- p.37 / Implications --- p.39 / References --- p.41 / Appendix A --- p.51 / Footnotes --- p.53

Thesis (M. Div.)--Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-140).

Infidelity in romantic relationships can be devastating, and can cause many complex emotional reactions. The Jealousy as a Specific Innate Module (JSIM) hypothesis posits that due to differing reproductive pressures over evolutionary history, men and women have evolved different mechanisms to respond to infidelity. JSIM proposes that men, due to fears of cuckoldry, will respond with intense jealousy to a partner's sexual infidelity. It proposes that women, who are certain of their maternity but may suffer severe consequences if their mate falls in love with another and diverts his resources elsewhere, will respond with intense jealousy to emotional infidelity. These gender effects were examined in a study of participants who had recently been cheated on sexually, emotionally, or both, by romantic partners. Distress, forgiveness, and couple identity were measured. Results among actual victims of infidelity failed to support the JSIM hypotheses. Men and women responded with similar levels of distress to both types of infidelity. Both men and women were less forgiving as sexual infidelity severity increased, yet the severity of sexual infidelity was associated positively and significantly with less forgiveness for women, and it was associated less positively and non-significantly with less forgiveness for men. Men reported more couple identity after infidelity than did women. In a larger sample that used hypothetical scenarios, it was found that men responded with more upset to sexual infidelity and women responded with more upset to emotional infidelity when using a forced choice method.

People cope with a variety of hurtful behaviors in the workplace. These actions can have detrimental emotional, relational, and task-related consequences. Forgiveness is one way to cope with these negative consequences. Although previous research examines how immediate situational factors such as offense severity and position in the organizational hierarchy influence the likelihood of practicing forgiveness in the workplace, little research investigates how contextual features such as an organization's conflict ideology shape the likelihood of forgiveness. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of organizational context on the practice and patterns of forgiveness in the workplace. In particular, this study investigates the relationship between an organization's conflict ideology and employees' coping practices following hurtful events in the workplace. Using three court-based justice models as lenses, this study analyzes the emergence of conflict values, beliefs, norms, and practices in four organizations. This study uses data collected from 103 individual interviews, observational notes, and organizational documents from four organizations to explore the relationship between justice ideologies and the practice and patterns of forgiveness in each organization. Analysis of the data using a modified version of constructive grounded theory indicated the emergence of multiple conflict values, norms, and practices within each organization. These values, norms, and practices reflected features of the court-based legalistic and restorative justice models. The combination of these features suggested the presence of four ideological justice models. Forgiveness emerged most consistently as a coping practice in an organization that emphasized several features of the restorative justice model. Additionally, features of the organizations' justice ideologies influenced patterns of forgiveness. This research suggests that the practice of forgiveness in the workplace is grounded in the organizational context.

The sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy has overwhelmed public media and has resulted in a barrage of criminal and civil lawsuits. Between October of 1985 and November of 2002, more than three-hundred and ninety-four media sources reported on allegations of sexual misconduct worldwide. The response by the hierarchy of the church has been defensive with little effort in expressing remorse. Researchers over the past decade have focused much attention on how organizations respond to crises involving allegations of wrongdoing, but little attention to the church as an organization remains under-researched. When an organization suffers such a crisis as did the Catholic Church regarding the sexual abuse of its members, the role of apology takes on various viewpoints. The questions posed for this research are: First, what strategies of apology did the Catholic Church use in addressing the sexual abuse by clergy and were the apologies issued apologies of regret or remorse. Secondly, I want to explore the impact the media has had on the church. Finally I want to explore the status of the church today with regard to legal issues and the effect the statute of limitations is having on the victims being compensated. The apologies issued on behalf of the Church were few and far between. Based on the analysis of articles from the Boston Globe, it appears that the Church apologized as more of regret than remorse. The silence and cover-up by leaders in the Church forced the hand of many victims to speak out about the abuse and confront the Church in the only way they would respond . . . in a court of law. Once the accusations became public, the media played a pivotal role in escalating the crisis, thereby, forcing the hand of the Church in addressing the abuse. Taking responsibility for the actions of clergy from the very beginning would have been the responsible thing for the Church to do.

published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Trinity Lutheran Seminary, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-130).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 228-244).