Editor choice: Let it rest: Sleep and health as positive correlates of forgiveness of others and self-forgiveness

Moral transgressions, psychological well-being, and family conflict in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of self-forgiveness

PURPOSE

The COVID-19 pandemic led many individuals to experience moral transgressions, exacerbating feelings of guilt and remorse. This study explored the role of the self-forgiveness of such transgressions in explaining their associations with psychological well-being and family conflict. We hypothesized that (a) higher levels of self-forgiveness would be associated with greater psychological well-being and reduced family conflict, (b) the perceived relevance of moral transgressions would be positively associated with self-forgiveness and indirectly associated with psychological well-being and family conflict through the mediation of self-forgiveness, and (c) the relationships between the variables of interest could vary across age.

METHOD

Adults (N = 277; M age = 30.04) completed anonymous online questionnaires assessing the relevance of transgressions committed, forgiveness and unforgiveness of self, psychological well-being, and family conflict during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Italy.

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling revealed that transgression relevance was positively associated with both forgiveness and unforgiveness of self, and indirectly related to psychological well-being and family conflict via self-forgiveness. Greater forgiveness of self was related to greater eudaimonic well-being, whereas greater unforgiveness of self was linked to increased family conflict and reduced eudaimonic well-being. The findings also indicated that age moderated the relationship between forgiveness of self and hedonic well-being, with the association weakening as age increased.

CONCLUSIONS

The results highlight the importance of promoting self-forgiveness to enhance psychological resilience and familial stability, particularly during challenging times.

Forgiveness and Religiosity Among Nurses: A Correlational Descriptive Study

The purpose of the study was to explore how nurses' religious beliefs affect their ability to forgive themselves and others. Design: A descriptive correlational study was conducted. Methods: The data were collected using an online survey via Qualtrics using three validated tools Enright Forgiveness Inventory - 30 (to measure forgiveness of others), Enright Self-Forgiveness Inventory (to measure forgiveness of self), and Duke University Religious Index (to measure religiosity). Findings: Forgiveness of others was associated with both non-organized religious activities and intrinsic religiosity. After controlling for other variables, non-organized religious activities continued to predict forgiveness of others but organized religious activities negatively predicted forgiveness of others. Self-forgiveness was not associated with any of the religiosity indicators, and in the regression model, the seriousness of self-offense alone uniquely explained self-forgiveness. Conclusion: Stressed nurses become distracted, may miss effective job performance, and patient care may suffer. Emotional and spiritual health and better patient outcomes can be attributed to the nurse forgiving others and the self. Nurses must be self-aware to develop forgiveness strategies for their well-being and provide effective care. Faculty should teach "person-centered" care and educate students to forgive others and themselves for effective patient care.

Perceived stress and health outcomes among Chinese university students: The chain mediating role of repetitive negative thinking and trait forgiveness

Stress around COVID-19 among university students is associated with higher physical symptom burden and worse overall health status. This study examined whether RNT and trait forgiveness mediate the link between perceived stress and health outcomes among Chinese university students. A total of 1342 students participated in a survey during the middle of the semester that assessed perceived stress, RNT, trait forgiveness, and various health outcomes. Results revealed significant mediating effects of both RNT and trait forgiveness on the relationship between perceived stress and health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and physical health. Moreover, the interplay between RNT and trait forgiveness mediated this association. These findings provide a theoretical basis for understanding the interactions among perceived stress, RNT, trait forgiveness, and health outcomes, highlighting the importance of addressing stress and RNT to enhance forgiveness and overall well-being in university students.

Conceptualizing Sleep Satisfaction: A Rapid Review

Good, satisfying, sleep is a key indicator and determinant of health and wellness. However, there is no consensus about how to define and measure good sleep. The present research aimed to define sleep satisfaction through the extant literature and disentangle it from sleep quality, a conceptually similar construct. Systematic review methods were adapted for a rapid review approach. The entire review was completed in eight weeks. Tabulation coding with content analysis was used to identify key categories and synthesize findings. A systematic process for generating construct definitions was followed. Database search yielded 51 eligible studies (N > 218,788), representing diverse adult populations, in 20 countries. Designs varied in rigour. Sleep satisfaction was defined as a personal, introspective, and global judgment about one's feelings of contentment with one's sleep, at a particular point in time. Sleep satisfaction was understood as an indicator of general health, impacted by and varied as a function of one's sleep environment and individual-level characteristics. This rapid review contributes to the literature by providing the first systematically generated definition of sleep satisfaction, with strong implications for measurement, research, and practice.

The Moderation Effects of Self-Construal Between Dispositional Mindfulness and Interpersonal Forgiveness

Previous studies found an association between mindfulness and forgiveness. However, the effects of self-construal on this association are still unclear. In the present study, self-reported forgiveness and a behavioral measure of forgiveness were used to explore the moderating effect of self-construal plays between mindfulness and forgiveness among 126 participants recruited based on their mindfulness scores. Results showed that participants with high level of mindfulness in the interdependent self-construal condition reported greater forgiveness and gave more money donations towards transgressors than those in the independent self-construal condition, while there is no significant difference between interdependent and independent self-construal groups among participants with low level of mindfulness. These findings suggest that self-construal moderates the relationship between mindfulness and interpersonal forgiveness.

Path of Physical Exercise's Impact on Deviant Behavior Among Chinese Adolescents

Purpose

Physical exercise is an important predictor of deviant behavior in adolescents; however, the paths and mechanisms underlying this relationship remain understudied.

Patients and Methods

This cross-sectional study used education tracking data of 8725 Chinese adolescents (4453 males, 4240 females, average age 14 ± 0.73) to construct a chain mediation model to explore whether sleep quality and mental health mediated the relationship between physical exercise and adolescent deviant behavior.

Results

The results show that physical exercise cannot directly predict adolescent deviant behavior; however, it can indirectly affect deviant behavior through the mediating effect of sleep quality and mental health as well as the chain mediating benefit of "sleep quality-mental health".

Conclusion

Sleep quality and mental health are important internal factors of physical exercise that inhibit deviant adolescent behavior. The lack of physical activity and poor sleep quality should be prioritized in interventions regarding deviant behavior among Chinese adolescents.

Is lifetime abuse forgivable in old age?

Old age is characterized by reflection and a retrospective examination of the multiple meanings of various life experiences, including lifelong abuse. Forgiveness is found to have a salutary effect, especially for older adults. To understand the place and role of forgiveness in the reflective process during aging, we performed a secondary analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews (N = 78) with older women survivors of abuse. Inductive thematic analysis was based on concepts developed deductively from the literature review. The findings include three main themes: (1) The dimensions of forgiving: The victim as subject; (2) Being forgiven: Between lost forgiveness and hope; and (3) Self-forgiveness and the aging self. Despite the known salutary effect of forgiveness, we must consider that this is not a universally desirable process. We included the dimension of forgiveness in the study of abuse throughout the older person's life course and identified further complexities in addition to the "forgiveness"/"unforgiveness."

The less you judge, the better you sleep: The benefits of mindfulness and forgiveness for insomnia and sleep problems

Mindfulness and forgiveness can contribute to decreased rumination, which in turn has been found to play an important role in sleep problems, such as insomnia and poor sleep quality. The authors explored rumination as a potential explanatory variable underlying the association of mindfulness with insomnia and sleep quality, with a model encompassing different mindfulness facets and controlling for interpersonal dispositional forgiveness. One hundred adults (74% females, Mage = 27.62, SD = 8.11) completed measures of Mindfulness, Forgivingness, Rumination, Sleep Quality, and Insomnia. Nonjudging was the main mindfulness facet contributing to better sleep quality. Rumination completely mediated the associations of nonjudgmental attitude with insomnia and sleep quality, and partially mediated the associations of dispositional forgiveness with the outcomes. These findings suggest that a mindful nonjudgmental attitude toward the self and a forgiving interpersonal disposition may reduce rumination by helping individuals let go of thoughts, mental images, and emotions, thus promoting better sleep.

Compassionate reappraisal and rumination impact forgiveness, emotion, sleep, and prosocial accountability

Sufficient sleep quality and quantity are important for biopsychosocial well-being. Correlational research has linked trait forgiveness to better sleep. Prior experimental evidence also demonstrated contrasting effects of offense rumination versus compassionate reappraisal on forgiveness and psychophysiological responses, suggesting the value of testing effects on sleep. The present study assessed 180 participants (90 M, 90 F). First, we replicated an individual difference model of forgiveness, rumination, depressed and anxious affect, and sleep. Second, we conducted a quasi-experiment inducing offense rumination and compassionate reappraisal on two consecutive nights. Compassionate reappraisal (vs. rumination) replicated past research by prompting more empathic, forgiving, positive, and social responses, with less negative emotion including anger. New findings revealed that compassionate reappraisal (vs. rumination) was also associated with faster sleep onset, fewer sleep disturbances, and fewer sleep impairing offense intrusions. The morning after compassionate reappraisal, participants reported less rumination and intrusive impact of the offense, with more hedonic well-being and accountability to others. Compared to rumination, compassionate reappraisal was associated with more empathy and forgiveness, better sleep, well-being, and prosociality.