Relationships with Parents Predict Willingness to Forgive Male and Female Transgressors
Poster Number
022
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Faculty Mentor
Merry Sleigh, Ph.D.
Abstract
We examined how relationships with their mothers and fathers predicted young adults’ willingness to forgive male and female offenders. We hypothesized that a higher quality of relationship with each gendered parent would relate to greater forgiveness of the same-gendered transgressor. Participants were young adults (n = 106; 78% women, 56% Caucasian) with a mean age of 19.87 (SD = 1.82). Participants imagined a serious offense by a female and by a male transgressor. After each situation, participants completed a forgiveness scale. Participants also responded to three scales (granted autonomy, warmth, and involvement) to assess their relationships with their mothers and fathers. In sum and in support of our hypothesis, higher relationship quality with fathers predicted greater willingness to forgive male offenders. Higher quality relationships with mothers predicted young adults’ greater willingness to forgive both male and female offenders. Religious adherence and parental modeling of forgiveness were linked to participants expressing positive attitudes toward forgiveness, but did not predict a greater forgiveness toward their transgressors. Young adults, especially women and African Americans, were more forgiving of female offenders, perhaps because the offenses participants reported coming from men (in open-ended responses) were more severe. These findings offer the first insight into how relationship quality with mothers and fathers differentially impact young adults’ forgiveness of male and female transgressors.
Course Assignment
PSYC 302 – Sleigh
Previously Presented/Performed?
Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA) Annual Meeting, Jacksonville, Florida, March 2019
Start Date
12-4-2019 12:00 PM
End Date
3-5-2019 12:00 AM
Relationships with Parents Predict Willingness to Forgive Male and Female Transgressors
Rutledge Building
We examined how relationships with their mothers and fathers predicted young adults’ willingness to forgive male and female offenders. We hypothesized that a higher quality of relationship with each gendered parent would relate to greater forgiveness of the same-gendered transgressor. Participants were young adults (n = 106; 78% women, 56% Caucasian) with a mean age of 19.87 (SD = 1.82). Participants imagined a serious offense by a female and by a male transgressor. After each situation, participants completed a forgiveness scale. Participants also responded to three scales (granted autonomy, warmth, and involvement) to assess their relationships with their mothers and fathers. In sum and in support of our hypothesis, higher relationship quality with fathers predicted greater willingness to forgive male offenders. Higher quality relationships with mothers predicted young adults’ greater willingness to forgive both male and female offenders. Religious adherence and parental modeling of forgiveness were linked to participants expressing positive attitudes toward forgiveness, but did not predict a greater forgiveness toward their transgressors. Young adults, especially women and African Americans, were more forgiving of female offenders, perhaps because the offenses participants reported coming from men (in open-ended responses) were more severe. These findings offer the first insight into how relationship quality with mothers and fathers differentially impact young adults’ forgiveness of male and female transgressors.
