Forgiveness interventions: The importance of assessing forgiveness-seeking behaviors.

Abstract

La investigación sobre el perdón ha destacado los beneficios de las intervenciones para promover el perdón en contextos clínicos. Este estudio se centra en la búsqueda de perdón que ha recibido menos atención. Además la investigación sobre el lado oscuro del perdón muestra que a veces perdonar puede ser contraproducente, incrementando la posibilidad de que las ofensas se repitan y el autoconcepto y la autoestima de la víctima disminuyan. El objetivo de nuestra investigación es desarrollar un instrumento que permita evaluar las diferentes conductas de búsqueda de perdón. El cuestionario se aplicó a 450 sujetos junto con el TRIM-18 y un cuestionario de características de la ofensa. Los resultados proporcionan evidencia de que el cuestionario es valido y fiable para evaluar conduces de búsqueda de perdón. La estructura factorial es congruente con la hipótesis teórica y las relaciones con el TRIM-18 y las características de la ofensa van en la dirección esperada.

A broad range of studies have highlighted the benefits of forgiveness interventions in clinical and counseling contexts. This research has focused mostly on the phenomenon of granting forgiveness while the process of seeking forgiveness has received much less attention. Moreover, research on the dark side of forgiveness indicates that forgiving sometimes can be countereffective, increasing the likelihood of reoffending and/or leading to a decrease in self-concept and self-respect in the victim.

The aim of this research is to develop an instrument to evaluate various repair-seeking behaviors. 450 subjects responded to the Forgiveness seeking inventory developed for this study, Forgiveness TRIM-18, and Offense Characteristics questionnaire.

The results of our study provide initial evidence that the RERS-Q is a reliable and valid tool to measure the behaviors that offenders might use when they seek forgiveness. The factor structure is congruent with the hypothesized four factor solution: Apologies, Restorative action, Relational maintenance and Diverting behaviors. The relations with the TRIM-18 and the Offense characteristics are in the expected directions. This study provides an instrument that can be extremely useful in work in relational transgressions because it assesses the offender's different behavior patterns which are particularly relevant for avoiding re-offending and for helping re-establish a relationship that is positive and healthy.