Predicting changes in unforgiveness following a relational transgression in couples.

Abstract

Relational transgressions in couples, defined as violations of explicit or implicit relationship norms, can lead to the experience of unforgiveness in the offended partner, which includes cognitive-evaluative, emotional-ruminative, and offender reconstrual dimensions. No studies have investigated the potential individual and contextual predictors of unforgiveness and its evolution over time in couples who have experienced a transgression. This study aimed to examine the association between (a) attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance), the level of subjective severity, and the contextual characteristics of the transgression (whether the transgression was recent and the presence of other hurtful events) and (b) the three unforgiveness dimensions and their evolution over a year. Couples (N = 245) completed online questionnaires at five time points (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months), reporting on their experience of unforgiveness about a specific relational transgression that they experienced. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that the three dimensions of unforgiveness decreased over the study period. Attachment anxiety was associated with a higher baseline level of emotional-ruminative unforgiveness, whereas attachment avoidance was associated with higher baseline levels of all three dimensions. Also, while perceiving the transgression as being more severe was associated with higher unforgiveness on all three dimensions at baseline, it was associated with a steeper decrease in each dimension. The results provide material for a rich discussion on how partners in close relationships internally experience unforgiveness following a relational transgression and what may predict this experience over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).