Beyond apologies: A systematic review of forgiveness in different relationship contexts

Title

Beyond apologies: A systematic review of forgiveness in different relationship contexts

Creator

Lahiri, Ahana; Padmakumari, P.

Description

Forgiveness is a vital psychological process that contributes significantly to an individuals emotional well-being, fostering personal growth, reducing stress, and alleviating negative emotions. Beyond the individual, forgiveness also positively influences communities by promoting harmony, reducing conflict, and strengthening social bonds, thereby enhancing collective mental health and relational stability. This paper aims to examine how forgiveness has been explored within various interpersonal contexts, including marriage, peer interactions, familial bonds, workplace relationships, and among dating couples. A comprehensive search across ten databases yielded 37 articles that met the inclusion criteria. These studies utilized four primary methodologies: quantitative approaches (surveys, interventions, experiments), qualitative approaches (case studies and interviews), longitudinal designs and mixed method designs. Findings indicate that fostering forgiveness significantly enhances relational health and interpersonal dynamics, alongside improvements in physical, mental and spiritual well-being. The systematic review highlights how forgiveness processes and interventions vary by relationship context, shaped by unique relational dynamics and cultural factors. However, more experimental and intervention based research is necessary to establish evidence based forgiveness practices, tailored to specific relationship dynamics. The promotion and study of forgiveness should be furthered to reinforce its multifaceted benefits across diverse interpersonal relationships. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.

Source

Current Psychology;Volume;44;Issue;18;pp.15351-15368

Date

01-01-2025

Publisher

Springer

Subject

Forgiveness; Interpersonal relationships; Psychological well-being; Relationship dynamics

Coverage

Lahiri A., Research Scholar, School of Psychological Sciences, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India; Padmakumari P., School of Psychological Sciences, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India

Rights

Restricted Access; Hardcopy may be available in the library

Relation

ISSN: 10461310;

Format

online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-08246-4

https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105012578627?origin=resultslist