A study of a proposed model for some precedents and outcomes of forgiveness in marriage

The purpose of this study was to test the proposed model for some precedents and outcomes of forgiveness in marriage. This model examined the role of causal and responsibility attributions, marital quality, empathy and Religious attitude in increasing forgiveness in couples and its effect on mental health and aggression in couples. The subjects of the study were 492 parents of high school students (husbands= 245; wives= 247) in Ahvaz. Participants completed Trait Forgivingness Scale (TFS), Relationship Attribution Measurement (RAM), Quality of Marriage Index (QMI), Batson Empathy Adjectives (BEA), religious attitude subscale of Enriching and Nurturing Relationship Issue, Communication and Happiness (ENRICH), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) And Symptom Checklist 90- Revised (SCL-90). Amos-7 project software was applied for Path Analysis modeling. The tested model had a good fit. Based on the tested path analysis modeling positive marital quality was predictive of forgiveness both directly and indirectly through responsibility and causal attributions. Moreover, causal attribution predicted forgiveness indirectly through responsibility attributions and empathy. Also responsibility attributions facilitated forgiveness both directly and indirectly through empathy. Besides, empathy directly predicted more forgiveness. Religious attitude were predictive of forgiveness both directly and indirectly through responsibility attributions. Likewise forgiveness was predictive of mental health and aggression directly. The results obtained and the models presented in this study are discussed in terms of their therapeutic and educational implications on forgiveness.