1
|
Griffin BJ, Norman SB, Weber MC, Hinkson KD, Jendro AM, Pyne JM, Worthington EL, Maguen S. Properties of the modified self-forgiveness dual-process scale in populations at risk for moral injury. Stress Health 2024; 40:e3413. [PMID: 38730552 DOI: 10.1002/smi.3413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Despite theory suggesting that self-forgiveness facilitates recovery from moral injury, no measure of self-forgiveness has been validated with individuals exposed to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs). Military veterans, healthcare workers, and first responders who reported PMIE exposure (n = 924) completed the Self-Forgiveness Dual-Process Scale, which assesses two dimensions of the self-forgiveness process. The first dimension, value affirmation, refers to appraising personal responsibility and being willing to make amends for one's involvement in a PMIE. The second dimension, esteem restoration, refers to accepting oneself as valuable and capable of growth despite one's failures and imperfections. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses replicated the original scale's two-factor structure in 10 items modified to apply to the diverse contexts in which PMIEs occur. Next, we found that the factor structure, item loadings, and item intercepts were fully or partially invariant across professions, genders, races, ages, and religious affiliations in a series of Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analyses. Finally, diverging patterns of associations between value affirmation and esteem restoration with moral distress, posttraumatic stress, depression, insomnia, functional impairment, and posttraumatic growth provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity between the subscales. The modified self-forgiveness dual process scale is the first measure of self-forgiveness to be validated with individuals exposed to a PMIE. Researchers and clinicians can use the scale to examine how self-forgiveness (or difficulties with forgiving oneself) relates to moral injury.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brandon J Griffin
- Central Arkansas VA Health Care System, Center for Mental Health Care & Outcomes Research, North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Psychiatric Research Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
| | - Sonya B Norman
- National Center for PTSD, White River Junction, Vermont, USA
- University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Marcela C Weber
- Central Arkansas VA Health Care System, Center for Mental Health Care & Outcomes Research, North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Psychiatric Research Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
| | - Kent D Hinkson
- Central Arkansas VA Health Care System, Center for Mental Health Care & Outcomes Research, North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Psychiatric Research Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
| | - Ashlyn M Jendro
- Central Arkansas VA Health Care System, Center for Mental Health Care & Outcomes Research, North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
| | - Jeffrey M Pyne
- Central Arkansas VA Health Care System, Center for Mental Health Care & Outcomes Research, North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Psychiatric Research Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
| | | | - Shira Maguen
- San Francisco VA Health Care System, San Francisco, California, USA
- University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Shen B, Chen Y, He Z, Li W, Yu H, Zhou X. The competition dynamics of approach and avoidance motivations following interpersonal transgression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2302484120. [PMID: 37769254 PMCID: PMC10556639 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2302484120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Two behavioral motivations coexist in transgressors following an interpersonal transgression-approaching and compensating the victim and avoiding the victim. Little is known about how these motivations arise, compete, and drive transgressors' decisions. The present study adopted a social interaction task to manipulate participants' (i.e., the transgressor) responsibility for another's (i.e., the victim) monetary loss and measure the participants' tradeoff between compensating the victim and avoiding face-to-face interactions with the victim. Following each transgression, participants used a computer mouse to choose between two options differing in the amount of compensation to the victim and the probability of face-to-face contact with the victim. Results showed that as participants' responsibility increased, 1) the decision weights on contact avoidance relative to compensation increased, and 2) the onset of the contact-avoidance attribute was expedited and that of the compensation attribute was delayed. These results demonstrate how competing social motivations following transgression evolve and determine social decision-making and shed light on how social-affective state modulates the dynamics of decision-making in general.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bo Shen
- School of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua321004, China
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY10016
| | - Yang Chen
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA24061
| | - Zhewen He
- Division of Biosciences, University College London, LondonWC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Weijian Li
- School of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua321004, China
| | - Hongbo Yu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA93106
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai200062, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Yi Z, Wu D, Deng M. Beliefs about the Nature of Forgiveness and Avoidance of an Offender among Chinese College Students. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:747. [PMID: 37754025 PMCID: PMC10525877 DOI: 10.3390/bs13090747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research on beliefs about the nature of forgiveness (unconditional and conditional) has focused on their effects on health and well-being. However, little is known about how they influence victims' responses to interpersonal offenses. Given that avoidance is a common response to offenses during early adulthood, this study investigated the relationships between beliefs in unconditional and conditional forgiveness and avoidance of an offender among Chinese college students, the mediating role of forgiveness, and the moderating role of whether or not the offender explains the offense. Participants were 423 Chinese college students. They were asked to recall an unforgettable incident in which another person had offended them, and then completed the following measures: the offender's explanation, the belief in unconditional/conditional forgiveness, forgiveness, and avoidance of the offender. The study found that: (1) Victims' belief in unconditional forgiveness negatively predicts their avoidance of an offender, whereas their belief in conditional forgiveness positively predicts the avoidance of an offender. (2) Forgiveness mediates the relationships between beliefs in unconditional and conditional forgiveness and avoidance of an offender. (3) The offender's explanation moderates the relationships between the belief in conditional forgiveness and forgiveness, as well as avoidance of an offender.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Mianlin Deng
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wenzel M, Harous C, Cibich M, Woodyatt L. Does victims' forgiveness help offenders to forgive themselves? The role meta-perceptions of value consensus. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
|
5
|
Thai M, Wenzel M, Okimoto TG. Turning Tables: Offenders Feel Like "Victims" When Victims Withhold Forgiveness. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2023; 49:233-250. [PMID: 34964377 DOI: 10.1177/01461672211062401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
When offenders apologize to victims for a wrongdoing, they often expect forgiveness in return. Sometimes, however, victims may withhold forgiveness. Across four experimental studies, we find that offenders feel like "victims" when victims respond to their apologies with non-forgiveness. This can be explained by the fact that they interpret non-forgiveness as both a norm violation and a threat to their sense of power. Together, these mechanisms can account for the relationship between non-forgiveness and negative conciliatory sentiments in offenders. These effects of non-forgiveness emerge irrespective of whether the transgression is recalled (Study 1) or imagined (Studies 2-4). They are specific to non-forgiveness rather than a lack of explicit forgiveness (Study 3), and are not qualified by subtle prods for participants to take the victim's perspective (Study 4). These findings demonstrate a destructive response pattern in offenders that warrants further attention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Thai
- The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.,Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Michael Wenzel
- Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Tyler G Okimoto
- The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Prosocial Behavior and Aggression in the Daily School Lives of Early Adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2022; 51:1636-1652. [PMID: 35478303 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-022-01616-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Research has not adequately addressed a possible mutual co-regulatory influence of prosocial and aggressive behaviors in adolescents' daily lives. This study explored bidirectional within-person associations between prosocial and aggressive behaviors in the daily school lives of early adolescents. The sample included 242 sixth-graders [Mage = 11.96 (SD = 0.18), 50% girls] and their teachers. Adolescents reported on daily prosocial behavior and reactive and proactive aggression for ten consecutive days. Teachers and adolescents reported on adolescents' overall prosocial behaviors. Across-day prosocial behaviors increased after days when adolescents exhibited more reactive aggression but not among self-reported low-prosocial adolescents. Increased prosocial behaviors did not mitigate aggression the next day. The findings suggest prosocial behaviors are a plausible compensatory strategy after daily aggressive reactions.
Collapse
|