The effects of forgiveness therapy on depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress for women after spousal emotional abuse.

Abstract

Emotionally abused women experience negative psychological outcomes long after the abusive spousal relationship has ended. This study compares forgiveness therapy (FT) with an alternative treatment (AT; anger validation, assertiveness, interpersonal skill building) for emotionally abused women who had been permanently separated for 2 or more years (M = 5.00 years, SD = 2.61; n = 10 per group). Participants, who were matched, yoked, and randomized to treatment group, met individually with the intervener. Mean intervention time was 7.95 months (SD = 2.61). The relative efficacy of FT and AT was assessed at p < .05. Participants in FT experienced significantly greater improvement than AT participants in depression, trait anxiety, posttraumatic stress symptoms, self-esteem, forgiveness, environmental mastery, and finding meaning in suffering, with gains maintained at follow-up (M = 8.35 months, SD = 1.53). FT has implications for the long-term recovery of postrelationship emotionally abused women.

A feasibility study of psychological strengths and well-being assessment in individuals living with recurrent depression

“…Three research groups obtained significant reductions in depression scores following forgiveness interventions with depressed clinical samples (Freedman & Enright, 1996;Lin, Mack, Enright, Krahn, & Baskin, 2004;Reed & Enright, 2006).…”

“…Interpersonal-forgiveness requires abandoning negative judgments and associated negative affect associated with the wrongdoer and giving up any right to retribution by not seeking revenge or holding grudges. In these definitions, self-forgiveness is intropunitive in orientation whereas other forgiveness is extrapunitive.Self-and other-forgiveness are associated with better mental health and well-being in general and student population samples (e.g., Maltby, Macaskill, & Day, 2001;Macaskill, 2012).Three research groups obtained significant reductions in depression scores following forgiveness interventions with depressed clinical samples (Freedman & Enright, 1996;Lin, Mack, Enright, Krahn, & Baskin, 2004;Reed & Enright, 2006). …”

O perdão interpessoal em relação a variáveis psicossociais e demográficas

“…Nesse campo, o perdão é operacionalizado como uma atitude motivada pela compaixão e observado em suas implicações para o desenvolvimento moral e social. Neste sentido, encontram-se os estudos de Robert D. Enright, com um corpo teórico e metodológico coerentemente aplicado a pesquisas empíricas em diversas áreas: psicologia do desenvolvimento moral (Enright & The Human Development Study Group, 1991, 1994, avaliação psicológica (Rique, Camino, Santos, & Gouveia, 2009;Subkoviak et al, 1995), psicologia clinica (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2001;Reed & Enright, 2006) e psicologia social (Holter, Martin, & Enright, 2003). Na psicologia do desenvolvimento, os estudos sobre raiva, depressão e ressentimento recebem muito mais ênfase do que os estudos sobre as experiências positivas no desenvolvimento ou as emoções positivas como a compaixão (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).…”

Forgiveness, revenge, and adherence to Islam as moderators for psychological wellbeing and depression among survivors of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

“…Substantial empirical evidence supports the Enright Forgiveness Inventory's (EFI) reliability and validity with Cronbach's α (.95 -.99; Subkoviak et al, 1995;Orcutt, 2006;Reed & Enright, 2006). Cross-cultural validity and reliability data report internal consistency of at least .95 (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000); the EFI's coefficient alpha for this study was .96.…”