Forgive to Live: Forgiveness, Health, and Longevity

Abstract

This study examined multiple types of forgiveness as predictors of mortality and potential psychosocial, spiritual, and health mechanisms of the effects of forgiveness on longevity. Data from a nationally representative sample of United States adults ages 66 and older assessed forgiveness, health, religiousness/spirituality, and socio-demographics (N = 1,232). God's unconditional forgiveness and conditional forgiveness of others initially emerged as statistically significant predictors of mortality risk. However, only conditional forgiveness of others remained a significant predictor of mortality after controlling for religious, socio-demographic, and health behavior variables. Mediators of the association between conditional forgiveness of others and mortality were examined, and a statistically significant indirect effect was identified involving physical health. These findings suggest that conditional forgiveness of others is associated with risk for all-cause mortality, and that the mortality risk of conditional forgiveness may be conferred by its influences on physical health.

Forgiveness, Religiousness, and Life Satisfaction: An Empirical Study on Turkish and Jordanian University Students

“…Social scientists began studying forgiveness from the psychological perspective in the 1960s. After the development of positive psychology, it was accepted as one of the most important virtues and studied in relation to different variables such as religiousness, health, personality, and more (Ayten, 2009;Egan & Todorov, 2009;Elliott, 2011;Hirsch, Webb, & Jeglic;2011;Lewis, 2005;Rye & Pargament;2002;Toussaint & Friedman, 2009;Toussaint, Owen, & Cheadle, 2012;Van Dyke & Elias, 2007;Webb, Chickering, Colburn, & Heisler, 2005). This paper intends to examine the relationship between religiosity, forgiveness, and life satisfaction.…”

Perdão conjugal: uma explicação a partir dos valores humanos

“…Nesse contexto, o perdão pode ser visto como um meio para evitar dissoluções matrimoniais, uma vez que afeta de forma direta e positiva a satisfação conjugal (Chung, 2014;Pelucchi, Paleari, Regalia, & Fincham, 2013), a resolução de confl ito (Fife, Weeks, & Stellberg-Filbert, 2013), a longevidade (Toussaint, Owen, & Cheadle, 2012) e a qualidade do casamento (Fincham, Beach, & Davila, 2007).…”

Marital Forgiveness: An Explanation Based on Human Values

“…In this context, forgiveness can be viewed as a method of avoiding the dissolution of the marriage because it directly and positively affects conjugal satisfaction (Chung, 2014;Pelucchi, Paleari, Regalia, & Fincham, 2013), confl ict resolution (Fife, Weeks, & StellbergFilbert, 2013), longevity (Toussaint, Owen, & Cheadle, 2012) and the quality of the marriage (Fincham, Beach, & Davila, 2007).…”