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Cowden RG, Worthington Jr. EL, Griffin BJ, Davis DE, Grubbs JB. Trait tendencies to forgive, punish, and exonerate oneself: A multi-study investigation. Journal of Research in Personality. 2020 Feb 20; 86(June 2020):https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.103934.
In two studies (N's = 515 and 359), we examine the utility of the Dual-Process Model of Self-Forgiveness for conceptualizing and measuring trait self-forgiveness with South African and American adults. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the trait-adapted Dual-Process Self-Forgiveness Scale supported an eight-item, two-factor structure of self-forgivingness consistent with prior theorizing and empirical evidence. The trait-adapted measure predicted incrementally more variance in outcomes beyond an existing measure of trait self-forgiveness. Latent subgroups characterized by tendencies to forgive, punish, and exonerate oneself in response to wrongdoing or failure were identified. Comparisons of mean differences provided preliminary evidence supporting the validity of the subgroups. Implications of the findings for conceptualizing and measuring self-forgiveness are discussed.