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. 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), Qualityof 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 Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The tested model had a good fit. Based on the tested structural equation modeling positive marital quality was predictive of forgiveness both directly and indirectly through responsibility andcausal 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 bothdirectly 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.