Antecedents and consequences of forgiveness in students of Kabul University, Afghanistan

Forgiveness is as a moral of virtue can play a significant role in improving relationships and social interactions. The purpose of this research was to identify the antecedents and consequences of forgiveness in students of Kabul University. The research sample consisted of 300 students who were randomly selected. Date collection tools were used questionnaires such as forgiveness (Thompson, 2005), agreeableness (McCree and Costa, 1992), self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965), family cohesion (inspired by Elson's hybrid model, 1999; Razavieh and Samani, 1379), empathy (EQ-8), religious beliefs (Glock & Stark, 1965), quality of life (Ware, Kosinski, & Keller, 1996), psycho-physical health GHQ-12 (Goldberg & Hillier, 1979) and optimism (Scheier & Carver, 1994). Methods for analyzing the present study were structural equation modeling AMOS 22 software and using bootstrap method for mediation effects. The results of this study showed that all the coefficients of the direct paths between the research variables, except for the paths of family cohesion, religious beliefs, agreeableness and quality of life, are statistically significant at (p<0.05) level. According to the results of this research, the indirect relationship of self-esteem with mental-physical health and optimism, agreeableness with mental-physical health and empathy with mental-physical health and optimism by mediating of forgiveness were significant. The findings of the current research provide a useful framework for identifying the influencing factors in the initiation of forgiveness and its consequences.