Forgiveness Interventions for Older Adults: A Review

Cancer Patients: Forgiveness, Discomfort Intolerance and Psychiatric Symptoms

Objectives: Cancer patients try to find answers in the light of their individual experiences and if they cannot adapt in line with the answers, various psychiatric symptoms may occur. There are studies supporting that "forgiveness" helps reduce the emotional burden of patients with cancer in their ability to discomfort intolerance of the disease, find meaning in the life. The aim of this study is to evaluate forgiveness, discomfort intolerance, and psychiatric symptoms in cancer patients. Methods: The data of this study, which was conducted with 208 cancer patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy treatment, Personal Information Form was collected with Heartland Forgiveness Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory, and Discomfort Intolerance Scale. Result: It has been determined that cancer patients have a high level of forgiveness, a moderate tolerance to tolerate discomfort, and enable low level of occurrence of psychiatric symptoms. As the level of self-forgiveness and forgiveness of patients increases, the incidence of psychiatric symptoms decreases. Conclusion: In line with the findings, it can be thought that the high level of forgiveness of cancer patients towards their illness allows them to experience less psychiatric symptoms and increase their tolerance to the disorder. Awareness of both patients and healthcare personnel can be increased by preparing training programs that address forgiveness in individuals diagnosed with cancer in healthcare institutions.

Gerotranscendence and wisdom in Polish older adults. The longitudinal mediation analysis of forgiveness

Objectives: The goal of the present study was to investigate whether forgiveness played a mediating role in the relationships between gerotranscendence and wisdom among people in late adulthood. Method: The study included 416 participants aged 60 to 75 years. The following measures were used: the Gerotranscendence Scale Type 2 (GST2), the Heartland Forgiveness Scale and the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS). To verify the hypothesis, a longitudinal three-wave field study was conducted. Results: The results suggest that an increase in gerotranscendence is associated with an increase in forgiveness and wisdom. In addition, greater willingness to forgive co-occurs with higher levels of wisdom. Moreover, dispositional forgiveness mediates the relationship between gerotranscendence and wisdom - a higher gerotranscendence leads to a higher wisdom through an increase in forgiveness. Conclusion: The results of our research add to the knowledge of the mechanism of the relationship between gerotranscendence and wisdom and support the thesis that late adulthood presents individuals with new challenges and opportunities for creative personal development.

Are Religious Practices Indirectly Related to Stress at Work Through the Tendency to Forgive? A Sample of Polish Employees

Religiosity has been a neglected factor in studies regarding the workplace in comparison to spirituality. Some available studies have indicated positive outcomes of religious commitment and intrinsically religious-oriented employees. There is however a lack of research explaining how religious commitment is related to occupational well-being. This study aimed to examine the mechanism of the relationship between religious practices and stress at work and the role of forgiveness as a moral virtue underlying this link. The participants in the study were 754 employees from Poland. The research used a cross-sectional design. The mechanism controlled for gender, denomination, age, education, and the level of position held, and the indirect relationship between prayer and mass attendance and stress at work through forgiveness was confirmed. Religious practices were positively related to a lack of revenge and avoidance motivation, which, in turn, was negatively correlated with stress at work. The role of religious commitment in occupational well-being was discussed, considering socio-cultural conditioning, and the theoretical and practical implications were presented.

Is lifetime abuse forgivable in old age?

Old age is characterized by reflection and a retrospective examination of the multiple meanings of various life experiences, including lifelong abuse. Forgiveness is found to have a salutary effect, especially for older adults. To understand the place and role of forgiveness in the reflective process during aging, we performed a secondary analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews (N = 78) with older women survivors of abuse. Inductive thematic analysis was based on concepts developed deductively from the literature review. The findings include three main themes: (1) The dimensions of forgiving: The victim as subject; (2) Being forgiven: Between lost forgiveness and hope; and (3) Self-forgiveness and the aging self. Despite the known salutary effect of forgiveness, we must consider that this is not a universally desirable process. We included the dimension of forgiveness in the study of abuse throughout the older person's life course and identified further complexities in addition to the "forgiveness"/"unforgiveness."

Mindfulness and loneliness in retired older adults in China: mediation effects of positive and negative affect

Objectives: Drawing from the mindfulness framework and the broaden-and-build theory, this study investigates the extent to which mindfulness influences loneliness and whether the relation is mediated by positive and negative affect.Method: Data were collected from 748 retired older adults aged 60 and above in Chengdu, China in 2022. Loneliness and mindfulness were measured by the UCLA loneliness scale and by the short-form version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, while the positive and negative affect was assessed by the International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule.Results: The results of this study show that mindfulness was positively associated with positive affect (β = 0.37, p<.001), negatively related to negative affect (β=-0.21, p<.001) and loneliness (β=-0.13, p<.001), and had an indirect effect on loneliness via positive and negative affect (β=-0.20, p<.001).Conclusion: The findings suggest that mindfulness could be a positive resource for improving mental health and reducing loneliness among retired older adults in China.

Hope-Based Program for Portuguese Outpatients with Advanced Chronic Illness in a Community Setting: A Randomized Control Trial

Background: Hope is widely considered a subjective phenomenon able to bring beneficial consequences to human health and existence. Maintaining hope amid a life-threatening disease and during palliative care is critical. The study aims to examine the effectiveness of a psychosocial supportive Hope Promotion Program (HPP) in enhancing hope, comfort, and quality of life in Portuguese adult outpatients with advanced and progressive chronic illness. Method: Using a parallel Randomized Control Trial (RCT) with pre-post design, 56 cancer outpatients from two day hospitals. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control group (n = 28) or an intervention group (n = 28). The primary outcome measure was hope. Secondary measures included comfort and quality of life. Participants were assessed at baseline, day 15, and day 30 of follow-up. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups. In the intervention group, there was a significant increase in the total hope scores after the HPP (day 15). Significant differences were still present after one month (p < 0.05). There was also a significant increase in comfort and quality of life scores in the intervention group one month after HPP (p = 0.018). Conclusions: The HPP may be an effective intervention to increase hope and improve comfort and quality of life among palliative patients. Future studies should increase sample size, diversify settings, and include longer and more detailed follow-ups.