Abstract
How do early life factors relate to future forgiveness? We sought to partly address this question by examining attachment styles and perceptions of previous family forgiveness culture among young adults. For this study, 107 students from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and 137 students from the University of Calgary completed a number of online surveys over the course of two sessions. Part 1 consisted of surveys that measured forgiveness-related variables on the dispositional level. Part 2 consisted of surveys that mostly involved a recalled transgression recently committed by a same-sex friend. This study used selected measures from the larger data set. As expected, secure attachment significantly predicted higher trait forgiveness and higher insecure attachment (consisting of the dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful attachment styles) predicted lower trait forgiveness. With respect to recalled same-sex friendship transgressions, higher secure attachment did not significantly predict state forgiveness (as defined by subjects' current benevolence, avoidance, and revenge motivations toward their transgressors). Higher insecure attachment significantly predicted both lower benevolence and higher avoidance motivations. Perceptions of family forgiveness culture predicted trait forgiveness but not state forgiveness. Finally, this study explored a potential pathway between attachment style and trait forgiveness. As predicted, global self-esteem (i.e., one's general sense of self-worth) mediated the relationship between attachment and trait forgiveness for the secure, preoccupied, and fearful attachment styles. However, global self-esteem unexpectedly did not mediate the relationship between dismissing attachment and trait forgiveness. Overall, this study's findings suggest that attachment orientations -- established early in life -- significantly relate to future forgiveness both in terms of one's tendency to forgive and in terms of actual forgiveness ,motivations within the context of same-sex friendship transgressions. In addition, our data suggests that perceived family forgiveness culture predicts one's tendency to forgive later in life.