Showing papers by "Everett L. Worthington published in 2005"

Forgivingness, Vengeful Rumination, and Affective Traits

Abstract: Trait forgivingness is the disposition to forgive interpersonal transgressions over time and across situations. We define forgiveness as the replacement of negative unforgiving emotions with positive, other-oriented emotions. Rumination has been suggested as a mediator between forgivingness and emotional outcomes; however, we suggest that different content of rumination leads to different outcomes after transgressions. In four studies of 179, 233, 80, and 66 undergraduate students, trait forgivingness was negatively correlated with trait anger, hostility, neuroticism, fear, and vengeful rumination and was positively correlated with agreeableness, extraversion, and trait empathy. The disposition to ruminate vengefully mediated the relationship between trait forgivingness and (1) anger-related traits and (2) both revenge motivations and state anger following a specific recent transgression, but it did not mediate between forgivingness and (1) fearfulness and (2) avoidance motivations following a specific transgression. Self-hate statements, a proxy for depressive rumination, mediated the relationship between forgivingness and both depression and fearfulness but not the relationship between forgivingness and trait anger. Future research should distinguish the contents of mental rumination following interpersonal transgressions.

In Search of a Common Core: A Content Analysis of Interventions to Promote Forgiveness.

Abstract: This article reviews published methods for promoting forgiveness for a broad range of clinical issues. The review revealed a consensus among applied researchers regarding several broad types of interventions to promote forgiveness, namely, (a) defining forgiveness, (b) helping clients remember the hurt, (c) building empathy in clients for the perpetrator, (d) helping clients acknowledge their own past offenses, and (e) encouraging commitment to forgive the offender. Roughly half of the studies also prescribed interventions to help clients overcome unforgiveness (e.g., bitterness, vengefulness) without explicitly promoting forgiveness. Speculations about how to use forgiveness interventions in sensitive and client-supportive ways are advanced on the basis of the findings.

Forgiveness in health research and medical practice.

Abstract: With the rising popularity of positive psychology, research on forgiveness has flourished. Forgiveness has been found to have application to the field of medicine. We review definitions and describe potential physical and mental benefits of forgiveness. We (1) address potential mechanisms by which forgiveness might affect physical health, (2) evaluate the research on forgiveness and mental health, (3) summarize research on interventions to promote forgiveness, (4) examine issues specifically related to medicine in which forgiveness might play an important role, and (5) discuss forgiveness of self and others and seeking forgiveness in light of those applications. We emphasize the importance of one's motive in forgiving, noting that altruistic motives hold greater benefits than do self-interested motives.

Helping Christian College Students Become More Forgiving: An Intervention Study to Promote Forgiveness as Part of a Program to Shape Christian Character

Abstract: As part of a system-wide university intervention to help build stronger Christian character, an emphasis was placed on helping students become more forgiving. This effort involved chapel programs, ...

Covenantal and contractual values in marriage: Marital Values Orientation toward Wedlock or Self‐actualization (Marital VOWS) Scale

Abstract: Cultural constructions of marriage have developed to form 2 marital values orientations. These marital values can be understood along a continuum from covenantal at 1 pole to contractual at the other pole. Covenantal marital values prioritize individual sacrifice for the marriage to promote marital health, commitment, and vow taking to resolve conflict, the collective dyad as the primary unit of the marriage, and often spiritual intervention as a primary means of restoring order. Contractual marital values prioritize individual self-actualization to promote marital health, negotiation, and mutual agreement to resolve conflict, the individual as the primary unit of the marriage, and clinical and psychological interventions as a primary means of restoring order. The authors developed a 26-item scale to measure contractual and covenantal marital values. In 3 studies examining a total of 786 student and community participants, the factor structure of the scale was evaluated, and convergent and discriminant construct validity, item internal consistency, and 4-week test–retest reliability were examined.

Matrix model of clinical psychology: applause or the sound of one hand clapping?

Abstract: The matrix model as proposed by C.R. Snyder and T.R. Elliott (this issue, pp.1033-1054) is a welcome refocusing of clinical psychology for the 21st century. Yet, limitations to the model are that (a) it shifts attention to the target of interventions (i.e., "clients") and virtually ignores the function of the interventionist; (b) it might not be the best way to characterize "clients"; and (c) training might take longer than 5 years. Overall, it is a heuristic model; will it be accepted?