Self-forgiveness in romantic relationships: 2. Impact on interpersonal forgiveness

Abstract

Both self-forgiveness and other-forgiveness are associated with greater relationship satisfaction in romantic relationships. The present research examines whether self-forgiveness for a transgression against the partner leads to greater forgiveness of a subsequent partner transgression, and whether this, in turn, predicts greater relationship satisfaction. Study 1 showed that self-forgiveness positively affected other-forgiveness in a scenario-based design employing university students. Study 2 investigated real transgressions between cohabiting partners and showed that self-forgiveness was positively related to relationship satisfaction both directly and indirectly, through other-forgiveness. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research.