The DOI matches its Crossref record; 40 of the 40 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Forgiveness Therapy for the Promotion of Mental Well-Being: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Abstract
Interpersonal hurts and violence against the individual have a high prevalence and are associated with a range of long-term problems in terms of psychological functioning. There is a growing body of research highlighting the role of forgiveness therapy in improving different aspects of psychological health in populations who have experienced diverse types of hurt, violence, or trauma. This article reports the findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of process-based forgiveness interventions among samples of adolescents and adults who had experienced a range of sources of hurt or violence against them. Randomized controlled trials were retrieved using electronic databases and an examination of reference sections of previous reviews; each study was assessed for risk of bias. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess treatment effects. The results suggest that forgiveness interventions are effective in reducing depression (SMD = −0.37, 95% CI [−0.68, −0.07]), anger and hostility (SMD = −0.49, 95% CI [−0.77, −0.22]), and stress and distress (SMD = −0.66, 95% CI [−0.91, −0.41]) and in promoting positive affect (SMD = −0.29, 95% CI [−0.52, −0.06]). There was also evidence of improvements in state (SMD = −0.55, 95% CI [−0.88, −0.21) and trait (SMD = −0.43, 95% CI [−0.67, −0.20]) forgiveness. The findings provide moderately strong evidence to suggest that forgiving a variety of real-life interpersonal offenses can be effective in promoting different dimensions of mental well-being. Further research is, however, needed.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Citations
Cites
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions: Cochrane Book Series
(2008) · doi:10.1002/9780470712184 · Cited by 25,048
The world report on violence and health
Krug, E. G., Mercy, J. A., Dahlberg, L. L., & Zwi, A. B. (2002) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)11133-0 · Cited by 9,110
Psychological well-being: evidence regarding its causes and consequences
Huppert, F. A. (2009) · Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/j.1758-0854.2009.01008.x · Cited by 1,583
Helping clients forgive: An empirical guide for resolving anger and restoring hope.
Enright, R. D., & Fitzgibbons, R. P. (2000) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10381-000 · Cited by 777
The Association of Anger and Hostility With Future Coronary Heart Disease
Chida, Y., & Steptoe, A. (2009) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2008.11.044 · Cited by 774
Forgiveness as an intervention goal with incest survivors.
Freedman, S. R., & Enright, R. D. (1996) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-006x.64.5.983 · Cited by 632
Counseling Within the Forgiveness Triad: On Forgiving, Receiving Forgiveness, and Self‐Forgiveness
Enright, R. D. (1996) · Counseling and Values · doi:10.1002/j.2161-007x.1996.tb00844.x · Cited by 539
Efficacy of psychotherapeutic interventions to promote forgiveness: A meta-analysis.
Wade, N. G., Hoyt, W. T., Kidwell, J. E. M., & Worthington, E. L. (2013) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0035268 · Cited by 497
Forgiveness as an intervention goal with incest survivors.
Freedman, S. R., & Enright, R. D. (1996) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.64.5.983 · Cited by 441
Intervention Studies on Forgiveness: A Meta‐Analysis
Baskin, T. W., & Enright, R. D. (2004) · Journal of Counseling & Development · doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2004.tb00288.x · Cited by 420
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- DiBlasio F. A., 2002, Marriage & Family: A Christian Journal, 5, 511
- Luskin F. M., 2005, Humboldt Journal of Social Relations, 29, 163
- 10.53841/bpscpr.2005.20.1.26 · DOI
- Worthington E. L., 2001, Five steps to forgiveness: The art and science of forgiving
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Effectiveness of positive psychology interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Carr, A., Cullen, K., Keeney, C., Canning, C., Mooney, O., Chinseallaigh, E., & O’Dowd, A. (2021) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2020.1818807 · Cited by 645
Slavich, G. M. (2020) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045159 · Cited by 502
What is sexual wellbeing and why does it matter for public health?
Mitchell, K. R., Lewis, R., O’Sullivan, L. F., & Fortenberry, J. D. (2021) · The Lancet Public Health · doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(21)00099-2 · Cited by 402
Kupferberg, A., & Hasler, G. (2023) · Journal of Affective Disorders Reports · doi:10.1016/j.jadr.2023.100631 · Cited by 230
Social Safety Theory: Conceptual foundation, underlying mechanisms, and future directions
Slavich, G. M., Roos, L. G., Mengelkoch, S., Webb, C. A., Shattuck, E. C., Moriarity, D. P., & Alley, J. C. (2023) · Health Psychology Review · doi:10.1080/17437199.2023.2171900 · Cited by 193
Puchalski, C. M., Jafari, N., Buller, H., Haythorn, T., Jacobs, C., & FERRELL, B. R. (2020) · Journal of Palliative Medicine · doi:10.1089/jpm.2019.0375 · Cited by 120
“…42 and other referrals for meaning-oriented therapy, 43 dignity therapy, 44 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, 45 life review, forgiveness therapy, 46 and art therapy; (3) self-care spiritual practices (e.g., meditation, yoga, tai chi, massage, spiritual support groups, and sacred spiritual…”
Managing service recovery experience: Effects of the forgiveness for older consumers
Babin, B. J., Zhuang, W., & Borges, A. A., Jr. (2020) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102222 · Cited by 96
The evidence-base for positive psychology interventions: a mega-analysis of meta-analyses
Carr, A., Finneran, L., Boyd, C., Shirey, C., Canning, C. J., Stafford, O., Lyons, J., Cullen, K., Prendergast, C., Corbett, C., et al. (2023) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2023.2168564 · Cited by 122
“…conducted on segments of the overall PPI evidence base to evaluate the impact of specific types of PPIs, for example, signature strengths (Schutte & Malouff, 2019), kindness (Curry et al., 2018), forgiveness (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018), gratitude (Dickens, 2017), and optimism (Malouff & Schutte, 2017).”
BackgroundA Fourth Wave of Psychotherapies: Moving Beyond Recovery Toward Well-Being
Peteet, J. R. (2018) · Harvard Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/hrp.0000000000000155 · Cited by 76
The Relationship between Basic Hope and Depression: Forgiveness as a Mediator
Kaleta, K., & Mróz, J. (2020) · Psychiatric Quarterly · doi:10.1007/s11126-020-09759-w · Cited by 63
Quintana‐Orts, C., & Rey, L. (2017) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.12.021 · Cited by 56
Zhang, L., Lu, J., Li, B., Wang, X., & Shangguan, C. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110094 · Cited by 54
Rapp, H., Xu, J. W., & Enright, R. D. (2022) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.13771 · Cited by 64
Chiou, S.-S., Hsu, Y., Chiu, Y., Chou, C., Gill, D. L., & Lu, F. J.-H. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03007 · Cited by 48
“…2013), intrinsic motivation (Cresswell and Eklund, 2006; Li et al., 2013), harmonious passion (Gustafsson et al., 2011), forgiveness (e.g., Watson et al., 2017; Akhtar and Barlow, 2018), and altruism (e.g., Feigin et al., 2018) have been examined by researchers in sports as well as in many domains.”
BackgroundKraiss, J. T., Redelinghuys, K., & Weiss, L. (2022) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-022-00545-y · Cited by 46
“…concepts or interventions related to well-being such as kindness, optimism, posttraumatic growth, strengths, resilience, gratitude, and forgiveness (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Baskin & Enright, 2004; Curry et al., 2018; Davis et al., 2016; Dickens, 2017; Malouff & Schutte, 2017; Roepke, 2015;…”
Barcaccia, B., Salvati, M., Pallini, S., Baiocco, R., Curcio, G., Mancini, F., & Vecchio, G. M. (2019) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-019-01550-1 · Cited by 43
Quintana‐Orts, C., & Rey, L. (2018) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph15112389 · Cited by 41
“Previous studies have suggested the beneficial effects of forgiveness in psychological and physical health in a variety of interpersonal offenses, most of which are focused on adult forgiveness [29,31].”
BackgroundForgiveness Interventions for Older Adults: A Review
López, J., Fernández, I. S., Giménez, I. P., & Noriega, C. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm10091866 · Cited by 50
“pointed out a need for further forgiveness intervention research assessing their effectiveness with older adults [22].”
BackgroundInfluentialStripp, T. A., Wehberg, S., Büssing, A., Koenig, H. G., Balboni, T. A., VanderWeele, T. J., Søndergaard, J., & Hvidt, N. C. (2023) · The Lancet Regional Health - Europe · doi:10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100602 · Cited by 40
Slavich, G. M., Shields, G. S., Deal, B., Gregory, A., & Toussaint, L. L. (2019) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kaz015 · Cited by 30
“First, both forgiveness and acetaminophen have independently been shown to reduce social pain [37, 40].”
BackgroundResultInfluentialForgiving Adolescents: Far From Depression, Close to Well-Being
Barcaccia, B., Pallini, S., Pozza, A., Milioni, M., Baiocco, R., Mancini, F., & Vecchio, G. M. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01725 · Cited by 37
Quintana‐Orts, C., Rey, L., Chamizo‐Nieto, M. T., & Worthington, E. L. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17217966 · Cited by 31
“Previous meta-analysis and systematic reviews highlight forgiveness as a coping mechanism found to have many positive and a few negative effects for adolescents who had been victims of interpersonal transgressions such as bullying [12,62,63].”
BackgroundBeyond the bucket list: Unfinished and business among advanced cancer patients
Masterson, M. P., Slivjak, E. T., Jankauskaite, G., BREITBART, W. S., Pessin, H., Schofield, E., Holland, J. M., & Lichtenthal, W. G. (2018) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.4821 · Cited by 31
The bitter taste of revenge: Negative affect, depression and anxiety
Barcaccia, B., Salvati, M., Pallini, S., Saliani, A. M., Baiocco, R., & Vecchio, G. M. (2020) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-020-00643-1 · Cited by 30
“Indeed, forgiveness interventions can bring about positive affective, cognitive and behavioural changes capable of improving individuals’ well-being and psycho-physical health (Akhtar and Barlow 2018; Freedman and Zarifkar 2016;Macaskill 2005; Menahem and Love 2013; Reed and Enright 2006).”
BackgroundAnger Rumination and Mindfulness: Mediating Effects on Forgiveness
Anuncibay, R. D. L. F., Barbadillo, Á. G., Sánchez, D. O., Ordóñez-Camblor, N., & Pizarro-Ruiz, J. P. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18052668 · Cited by 31
Psychological interventions to promote self-forgiveness: a systematic review
Vismaya, A., Gopi, A., Romate, J., & Rajkumar, E. (2024) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-024-01671-3 · Cited by 40
“For instance, Lundahl et al. [63] and Aktar and Barlow [66] state in their study that Enright’s process model outperformed the REACH model.”
ResultInterpersonal Offenses and Psychological Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Forgiveness
González, E. G., Anchía, R. J., Díaz, M. P. M., Galán, M. J. C., Cagigal, V., & Ursúa, M. P. (2019) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-018-00070-x · Cited by 37
Eroğlu, Y., Peker, A., & Cengiz, S. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.819049 · Cited by 33
What Would I Know About Mercy? Faith and Optimistic Expectancies Among African Americans
Mattis, J. S., Powell, W., Grayman, N. A., et al. (2017) · Race and Social Problems · doi:10.1007/s12552-016-9190-9 · Cited by 27
“Further, emerging evidence from psychotherapeutic interventions suggest that targeting forgiveness may diminish anger, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse vulnerability (Akhtar and Barlow 2016; Reed and Enright 2006; Wade et al. 2014; Lin et al. 2004).”
A Review of the Empirical Research Using Enright’s Process Model of Interpersonal Forgiveness
Freedman, S. R., & Enright, R. D. (2019) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781351123341-25 · Cited by 27
Assessing Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Heartland Forgiveness Scale
Consoli, S., Rossi, A. A., Thompson, L. Y., Volpi, C., Mannarini, S., Castelnuovo, G., & Molinari, E. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.596501 · Cited by 30
“…the past 30 years, the construct of forgiveness gained increasing attention and popularity allowing to produce a large amount of research in several fields (Freedman and Enright, 1996; Girard and Mullet, 1997; McCullough et al., 2000; Fehr et al., 2010; Wade et al., 2014; Akhtar and Barlow, 2016).”
BackgroundEfficacy of the REACH Forgiveness Intervention in Indian College Students
Toussaint, L. L., Worthington, E. L., Cheadle, A. C. D., Marigoudar, S., Kamble, S. V., & Büssing, A. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00671 · Cited by 29
“Numerous studies have examined the efficacy of the REACH Forgiveness program (for a recent review, see Worthington, 2020), and meta-analyses have borne out the efficacy of this approach (Wade et al., 2014; Akhtar and Barlow, 2018).”
BackgroundPsychological Interventions to Promote Forgiveness of Others
Wade, N. G., & Tittler, M. V. (2019) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781351123341-24 · Cited by 25
Forgiveness therapy in a maximum‐security correctional institution: A randomized clinical trial
Yu, L., Gambaro, M., Song, J. Y., Teslik, M., Song, M., Komoski, M. C., Wollner, B., & Enright, R. D. (2021) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2583 · Cited by 32
Forgiveness and Reconciliation Processes in Dying Patients With Cancer
Renz, M., Bueche, D., Reichmuth, O., Mao, M. S., Renz, U., Siebenrock, R. A., & Strasser, F. (2019) · American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine® · doi:10.1177/1049909119867675 · Cited by 26
“”(20) Forgiveness therapy is an often successful psychosocial intervention.(15,21,22,23) Step-by-step models by Enright and Worthington focus on life crises and define “decision” as pivotal.”
BackgroundValidating the Enright Forgiveness Inventory – 30 (EFI-30)
Enright, R. D., Rique, J., de Melo, R. L. P., Song, J. Y., Komoski, M. C., Batool, I., Bolt, D. M., Sung, H., Huang, S., Park, Y., et al. (2021) · European Journal of Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1027/1015-5759/a000649 · Cited by 35
Ye, Y., Ma, D., Yuan, H., Chen, L., Wang, G., Shi, J., Yu, Y., Yu, G., & Jiang, X. (2018) · Journal of Pain and Symptom Management · doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.10.511 · Cited by 20
Hendriks, T., Schotanus-Dijkstra, M., Graafsma, T., Bohlmeijer, E. T., & de Jong, J. T. V. M. (2020) · International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology · doi:10.1007/s41042-020-00037-5 · Cited by 21
“2010), and practicing forgiveness (Akhtar and Barlow 2016).”
BackgroundSong, J. Y., Yu, L., & Enright, R. D. (2020) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2531 · Cited by 26
Singh, A., Arora, M. K., & Boruah, B. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-53065-5 · Cited by 19
The Effectiveness of a Forgiveness Intervention on Mental Health in Bereaved Parents—A Pilot Study
Záhorcová, L., Enright, R. D., & Haľama, P. (2021) · OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying · doi:10.1177/00302228211024479 · Cited by 22
“Although this is in line with previous forgiveness interventions (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018), the usage of a larger sample size could lead to different and more representative results.”
BackgroundResultBrewer‐Smyth, K., Kafonek, K., & Koenig, H. G. (2019) · Holistic Nursing Practice · doi:10.1097/hnp.0000000000000362 · Cited by 20
Toussaint, L. L., Griffin, B. J., Worthington, E. L., Zoelzer, M., & Luskin, F. (2020) · Journal of Psychology and Theology · doi:10.1177/0091647120911109 · Cited by 16
“Two recent meta-analyses provide evidence of the effectiveness of forgiveness education (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Wade, Hoyt, Kidwell, & Worthington, 2014).”
BackgroundNation, J., Wertheim, E., & Worthington, E. (2018) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.22557 · Cited by 16
Wu, Q., Wang, L., & Choi, A. W. (2020) · Violence Against Women · doi:10.1177/1077801220952164 · Cited by 17
“Forgiveness treatment could be developed to help IPV survivors to free themselves from past adverse experiences by reducing their negative emotions and transforming their thoughts (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Lundahl et al., 2008).”
BackgroundKim, J. J., Ragasajo, L. J. C., Kolacz, R. L., Painter, K. J., Pritchard, J. D., & Wrobleski, A. (2021) · Journal of Psychology and Theology · doi:10.1177/00916471211046226 · Cited by 15
“Forgiveness has its root in both philosophy and theology (Enright & North, 1998; Worthington, 1998), but an increasing abundance of research has been done studying the effect of forgiveness on health and well-being (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Toussaint et al., 2015; Wade et al., 2014).”
BackgroundAppiah, R. (2022) · Culture & Psychology · doi:10.1177/1354067x221118916 · Cited by 19
Haroon, Z., Iftikhar, R., Kim, J. J., Volk, F. A., & Enright, R. D. (2021) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2545 · Cited by 17
Wong, J. S., & Bouchard, J. (2022) · Trauma Violence & Abuse · doi:10.1177/15248380211073839 · Cited by 15
Papola, D., Prina, E., Ceccarelli, C., Gastaldon, C., Tol, W. A., van Ommeren, M., Barbui, C., & Purgato, M. (2022) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd014300 · Cited by 14
Paleari, F. G., Danioni, F., Pelucchi, S., Lombrano, M. R., Lumera, D., & Regalia, C. (2022) · Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health · doi:10.1002/cbm.2260 · Cited by 18
Forgiveness therapy for adult inmate in Indonesian correctional facility: a pilot study
Praptomojati, A., & Subandi, M. A. (2020) · Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology · doi:10.1080/14789949.2020.1751869 · Cited by 14
“A meta-analysis study assessing the effectiveness of forgiveness interventions have found that forgiveness intervention can reduce depression, anxiety and stress and promoting positive affect (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018).”
BackgroundHaque, O. S., Lenfest, Y., & Peteet, J. R. (2019) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09638288.2019.1602674 · Cited by 13
“Forgiveness therapies aim to promote mental well-being by enabling others to examine such notions as a way to foster forgiveness and a method of healing [21,32].”
BackgroundKuang, S., Wang, W., Yan, S., Wu, Y., Zhang, Y., Li, J., Wu, Y., & Li, H. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-05701-6 · Cited by 16
“Additionally, significant negative relationships exist between forgiveness and depression (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Gençoğlu et al., 2018).”
Donovan, L. A. N., & Priester, J. R. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02107 · Cited by 13
“, 2016; Akhtar and Barlow, 2018; Barcaccia et al., 2019), physical health (Lee and Enright, 2019), decreased blood pressure for both victim and perpetrator (Hannon et al., 2010), greater health resilience (Worthington and Scherer, 2004), increased longevity [e.g., Barcaccia et al. (2020); see Witvliet et al. (2001)],…”
BackgroundZichnali, O., Μoraitou, D., Pezirkianidis, C., & Stalikas, A. (2019) · OBM Geriatrics · doi:10.21926/obm.geriatr.1902044 · Cited by 15
“In addition, they do better on multiple indicators of physical health and are more willing to forgive others [6].”
BackgroundKim, J. J., Enright, R. D., & Wong, L. Y. (2020) · Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health · doi:10.1080/19349637.2020.1739598 · Cited by 15
Papola, D., Prina, E., Ceccarelli, C., Cadorin, C., Gastaldon, C., Ferreira, M. C., Tol, W. A., van Ommeren, M., Barbui, C., & Purgato, M. (2024) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd014300.pub2 · Cited by 18
Predictors of forgiveness among divorced parents.
Kluwer, E. S., van der Wal, R. C., Visser, M. M., & Finkenauer, C. (2020) · Journal of Family Psychology · doi:10.1037/fam0000799 · Cited by 11
Levy, K., Grant, P. C., Clem, K., Eadie, D. S., & Rossi, J. L. (2020) · Journal of Palliative Medicine · doi:10.1089/jpm.2020.0521 · Cited by 11
The Handbook of Wellness Medicine
Snellings, J. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108650182 · Cited by 11
Correctional rehabilitation and positive psychology: Opportunities and challenges
Morse, S., Wright, K. A., & Klapow, M. C. (2022) · Sociology Compass · doi:10.1111/soc4.12960 · Cited by 14
Schuttenberg, E. M., Sneider, J., Rosmarin, D., Cohen-Gilbert, J., Oot, E., Seraikas, A., Stein, E. R., Maksimovskiy, A., Harris, S., & Silveri, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2022.782893 · Cited by 9
“, 2020) and forgiveness interventions (Akhtar and Barlow, 2018) might be used in a synergistic way to maximize the effectiveness in treating adolescent depression and anxiety.”
BackgroundKim, J. J., & Enright, R. D. (2024) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci14020155 · Cited by 10
“In fact, many forgiveness intervention studies show that individuals who learn to forgive show improvement in the area of mental health [14,15].”
BackgroundDer Vergebungsprozess als ein psychotherapeutischer Behandlungsansatz
Mavrogiorgou, P., Meister, K., & Juckel, G. (2018) · Verhaltenstherapie · doi:10.1159/000486579 · Cited by 10
Compiling and Evaluating Educational Package of Spiritual Skills for University Students
Bolhari, J., & Mohsenikabir, M. (2019) · Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.32598/ijpcp.25.2.210 · Cited by 10
Affetme Esnekliğinin Ergenlerin İyi Oluşunu Yordayıcı Rolü
Asıcı, E. (2019) · Erzincan Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi · doi:10.17556/erziefd.440497 · Cited by 10
FORGIVENESS OF OTHERS AND HEALTH: A REVIEW OF KEY MODELS AND IMPLICATIONS
Skalski‐Bednarz, S. B., Toussaint, L. L., Webb, J. R., & Krok, D. (2024) · Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Humanitas w Sosnowcu Pedagogika · doi:10.5604/01.3001.0054.9768 · Cited by 9
Su, S., Zhang, J., & Xia, L. (2022) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03530-z · Cited by 9
Witvliet, C. V., Luna, L. M. R., Vlisides‐Henry, R. D., & Griffin, G. D. (2019) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2019.1615104 · Cited by 8
“Increasingly, people have sought forgivenesspromoting interventions that also overcome the adverse impact of interpersonal offenses and rumination about them (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2015; Wade, Hoyt, Kidwell, & Worthington, 2014).”
BackgroundForgiveness, its factors, and unforgivable acts in romantic relationships: A mixed‐methods study
Záhorcová, L., Dršťáková, Ž., & Masaryková, M. (2023) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/pere.12471 · Cited by 8
Wnuk, M., & Charzyńska, E. (2023) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-023-01842-3 · Cited by 8
“We did so taking into account that the topics of forgiveness and meaning in life can be discussed during therapeutic sessions (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Hill et al., 2017), and therefore the current use of psychological or therapeutic services may reduce unexplained variation in forgiveness by…”
Mizahla Başa Çıkma ile Mental İyi Oluş Arasındaki İlişkide Affediciliğin Aracılık Rolü
Kayiş, A. R., & Satıcı, S. A. (2019) · Kastamonu Eğitim Dergisi · doi:10.24106/kefdergi.3099 · Cited by 8
Randall, G. K., & Bishop, A. J. (2021) · The International Journal of Aging and Human Development · doi:10.1177/00914150211031892 · Cited by 10
“Previous research found negative childhood events (Boland et al., 2020; Jones et al., 2020), forgiveness (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Praptomojati & Subandi, 2020), social support (Wolff & Sánchez, 2019), and religiosity (Jang et al., 2018; Stansfield et al., 2018) have the potential to improve the…”
BackgroundAnger Rumination Vs. Revenge Planning: Divergent Associations with Aggression and Life Satisfaction
Contreras, I. M., & Novaco, R. W. (2023) · Journal of School Violence · doi:10.1080/15388220.2023.2186420 · Cited by 8
“Meta-analyses on the efficacy of forgiveness therapy are very promising, with significant reductions observed for a number of negative psychological outcomes and the significant promotion of positive outcomes (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Baskin & Enright, 2004; Wade et al., 2014).”
BackgroundA Pilot Study of Motive Control to Reduce Vengeance Cravings.
Rowe, M., Kimmel, J., Pavlo, A. J., Antunes, K., Bellamy, C. D., O’Connell, M. J., Ocasio, L., Desai, M. U., Bal, J. A., & Flanagan, E. H. (2018) · PubMed · doi:10.29158/jaapl.003792-18 · Cited by 7
“Meta-analysis has produced moderately strong evidence suggesting that these interventions are effective in reducing depression, anger and hostility, and stress and distress.(14) However, a hallmark of forgiveness interventions is that they require the victim to develop empathy and compassion for the offender.”
BackgroundMeasuring predictors of psychopathology in Italian adolescents: Forgiveness, avoidance and revenge
Barcaccia, B., Ioverno, S., Salvati, M., Medvedev, O. N., Pallini, S., & Vecchio, G. M. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01414-2 · Cited by 11
The HEXACO Model of Personality, Religiosity, and Trait Forgiveness
Matuszewski, K., & Moroń, M. (2022) · Pastoral Psychology · doi:10.1007/s11089-022-01006-2 · Cited by 16
Survivors’ Paths Toward Forgiveness in Restorative Justice Following Sexual Violence
Hadar, N., & Gal, Ṭ. (2023) · Criminal Justice and Behavior · doi:10.1177/00938548231162108 · Cited by 15
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Positive Psychology Interventions in Workplace Settings
Martínez-Martínez, K., Cruz-Ortiz, V., Llorens, S., Salanova, M., & Bianchi, M. L. (2025) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci14080481 · Cited by 10
“…specifically—for example, interventions to establish character strengths (Schutte and Malouff 2019; Vásquez-Pailaqueo et al. 2025), forgiveness (Akhtar and Barlow 2018; Baskin and Enright 2004), compassion (San Román-Niaves et al. 2024), optimism (Bastounis et al. 2016; Carrillo et al. 2019),…”
Hikmat, R., Yosep, I., Widianti, E., Suryani, S., Sriati, A., & Susanti, I. (2024) · OBM Neurobiology · doi:10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2404249 · Cited by 6
Côté, M., Dufour, M., & Tremblay, J. (2022) · Journal of Marital and Family Therapy · doi:10.1111/jmft.12596 · Cited by 6
Dejanipont, B., Wang, C., Jenkins, S. R., Ta, A., Prybutok, V. R., & Vosvick, M. A. (2023) · Sexuality Research and Social Policy · doi:10.1007/s13178-023-00831-1 · Cited by 7
“…to protect victims of negative social interactions from further unhealthy relationships, the findings suggest counselors to emphasize to clients “that forgiveness does not necessarily involve reconciliation, con-doning, tolerating, or excusing hurtful behavior” (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018, p. 120).”
Tao, L., Ji, M., Zhu, T., Fu, H. C., & Sun, R. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.569134 · Cited by 6
“Meta-analysis has found that FIs can produce significant positive effects, including satisfaction, happiness, confidence, hopefulness, energy, softheartedness, warmth, and compassionate (Akhtar and Barlow, 2018).”
BackgroundGratitude, Forgiveness, and Anger: Resources and Risk Factors for Italian Prison Inmates
Danioni, F., Paleari, F. G., Pelucchi, S., Lombrano, M. R., Lumera, D., & Regalia, C. (2021) · International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology · doi:10.1177/0306624x211049191 · Cited by 8
“…interventions for prison inmates specifically focused on forgiveness capable of promoting wellbeing, positive social relationships and quality of life, and reduce recidivism (Forgiveness Therapy; see e.g., Akhtar & Barlow, 2018; Day et al., 2008; Enright et al., 2016; Praptomojati & Subandi, 2020).”
BackgroundRomantic Attachment and Adjustment to Separation: The Role of Forgiveness of the Former Partner
Guzmán‐González, M., Włodarczyk, A., Contreras, P., Rivera-Ottenberger, D., & Garrido-Rojas, L. (2019) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-019-01476-8 · Cited by 8
Bonab, B. G., Khodayarifard, M., Geshnigani, R. H., Khoei, B., Nosrati, F., Song, J. Y., & Enright, R. D. (2024) · Journal of Moral Education · doi:10.1080/03057240.2024.2360210 · Cited by 5
Skrodzka, M., & Vollhardt, J. R. (2024) · Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/casp.2832 · Cited by 8
Kuang, S., Xiaohong, W., Li, C., Yan, S., & Li, H. (2025) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/13591053251317322 · Cited by 5
“The willingness to forgive serves as a shield against being consumed by negative emotions like anger, anxiety, and sadness (Akhtar and Barlow, 2018).”
Wu, Q., Wang, L., & Choi, A. W. (2021) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/hsc.13425 · Cited by 5
Forgiveness Therapy to Improve Subjective Well-Being Among Families of Patients with Chronic Illness
Diana, R. R., Nashori, F., & Pihasniwati, P. (2023) · International Journal of Islamic Educational Psychology · doi:10.18196/ijiep.v4i1.17965 · Cited by 5
Buonanno, C., Iuliano, E., Grossi, G., Mancini, F., Stendardo, E., Tudisco, F., & Pizzini, B. (2021) · Brain Science · doi:10.3390/brainsci11101333 · Cited by 5
“It has also been reported that promoting forgiveness increases anger control and reduces trait anger and anger expressions [67,68].”
BackgroundKim, J. J., Tracy, E. L., & Enright, R. D. (2022) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-022-01505-9 · Cited by 6
Büssing, A., Recchia, D. R., & Toussaint, L. L. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00582 · Cited by 5
Kupferberg, A., & Hasler, G. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1372650 · Cited by 5
“The ability to forgive and repair relationships has been linked to a reduction in depression, indicating its effectiveness in regulating negative affect (66, 67).”
BackgroundSocial pain: A systematic review on interventions
Brooks, B. M., Cordero, F. J., Alchermes, S. L., & Brooks, B. M. (2025) · F1000Research · doi:10.12688/f1000research.159561.1 · Cited by 3
Rivera-Ottenberger, D., Guzmán‐González, M., Calderón, C., et al. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18168236 · Cited by 4
Post-Traumatic Bio-Behavioral Rehabilitation of Adult Female Victims
Brewer‐Smyth, K., Koenig, H. G., Kafonek, K., Adams, T., Raine, A., Phil, D. L. E., & Granger, D. A. (2021) · Delaware Journal of Public Health · doi:10.32481/djph.2021.021 · Cited by 4
Worthington, E. L. (2024) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci14090927 · Cited by 11
“The intervention studies from several reviews (e.g., [16,20–23]) and meta-analyses [24–27] on forgiveness interventions identified studies meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria ( k = 25).”
BackgroundPositive Psychotherapy with a Pulse: Achieving Depth through Dialogue
Pugh, M., & Salter, C. (2020) · International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology · doi:10.1007/s41042-020-00046-4 · Cited by 5
Metadata
- Authors
- Akhtar, S., & Barlow, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Warwick (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Akhtar, Sadaf
- ORCID
- Barlow, Jane
- Venue
- Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-03-23
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 107-122
- ISSN
- 1524-8380 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-8324
- OpenAlex
- W2311701971
- Semantic Scholar
- 0bab0ad0ff97e0d9546f12752a4c4b5708d38301
- Cited by
- 257
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 80 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 4
- FWCI
- 2.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Trauma Violence & Abuse (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Forgiveness and Related Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- forgiveness therapy, psychological well-being, depression, anger-hostility, positive affect, forgiveness, trauma, adolescents, adults
- MeSH terms
- Exposure to Violence, Adaptation, Psychological, Adolescent, Adult, Counseling, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Case-Control Studies, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Young Adult, Forgiveness
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
