Attachment, Forgiveness, and Generativity in Midlife

Current literature suggests secure attachment and forgiveness are positively correlated. However, to date, the relationship of adult attachment, forgiveness, and generativity has not been explored. In this current study, middle-aged adults, ages 45-80 from the George Fox University Alumni were surveyed to explore attachment (anxious and avoidant), generativity, and forgiveness. Since generativity is a prosocial trait, synonymous with altruism, suggesting one’s selfless service and concern for the well-being for others, it is predicted that generativity will have a positive relationship with forgiveness, and secure attachment. Further, multiple regression statistics were used to explore which of the independent variables (anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, and generativity) has the greatest effect on the dependent variable of trait forgiveness. Results indicated that there was a medium positive relationship between forgiveness and secure attachment, between generativity and secure attachment, and between forgiveness and generativity. Multiple regression found that each of the independent variables (anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, and generativity) were significant predictors of forgiveness with anxious attachment being the strongest predictor of forgiveness

Perceived Servant Leadership Behaviors and Employee Outcomes in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III, Athletics Departments The Moderating Role of Trust-in-Leader and Organizational Tenure

ESPN reported that in the 2016–2017 academic year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) surpassed $1 billion in revenue (Rovell, 2018). Trends in revenue and business models have caused scholars, educators, and professionals to call for a reform of how collegiate sport organizations are led (Lapchick et al., 2013; Lopiano & Gurney, 2014). Some believe servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1977) is the answer (Burton & Peachey, 2013; Dodd et al., 2018). Research studies on servant leadership in the sporting context have found it has a positive impact on the development of an ethical climate (Achen et al., 2019; Burton et al., 2017; Dodd et al., 2018). Moreover, the literature surrounding the prediction of servant leadership in sports also posited the motivation to serve as a concept that must be discussed when one considers the duality of the servant leader (van Dierendonck & Nuijten, 2011). Lastly, servant leadership in the collegiate sports context has been found to accurately predict levels of trust and job satisfaction (Achen et al., 2019). Using a quantitative survey-based correlational research design, this study sought to ascertain whether there was a significant relationship between an NCAA DIII athletics director’s perceived servant leadership behaviors and their employees’ levels of job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, employee engagement, harmonious passion, and job pride. Further analysis was performed to determine whether employee perceptions (N = 471) of an athletics director’s motivation to serve accurately predicted said servant leadership behaviors. Lastly, organizational tenure and trust in the organization’s leader were tested as moderators of the relationship between employee outcomes and perceived servant leadership behaviors. Results indicated motivation to serve was a significant predictor of servant leadership behaviors and that both organizational tenure and trust in one’s leader changed the relationship between some of the relationships tested, helping to better explain how perceived leadership behaviors of an NCAA Division III Athletics Director could impact employee attitudinal outcomes

Predicting Estrangement from God Among Christians: Preliminary Findings and Practice Implications

Persons who come to counseling, especially Christians, often present with concerns about their relationships with God. Many clinicians have noted that alienation or estrangement from God is a common concern even among persons with conservative theological beliefs. They may say things like “I know God loves me, but I don’t feel like it.” Little is currently known about factors which may cause or predict such feelings. The present study explored factors which predict estrangement from God. Results indicated that estrangement from God is more likely among clients than among students. Estrangement from God can be strongly predicted by the absence of a personal profession of Christian faith, self report of having been harmed by a church, low capacity for empathic concern for others, difficulty forgiving others, difficulty obtaining spiritual resources, and seldom engaging in prayer for others. Among Christians all but the first factor may be helpful in identifying those who experience estrangement from God. Therapists can encourage clients to pray for, forgive, and develop empathy for others, help clients to access spiritual resources, and help them to resolve issues of harm by a church. These strategies may enhance their closeness to God

The relationship between forgiveness, imagined interactions, empathy and relational satisfaction among long-distance romantic couples

Forgiveness is viewed as a major factor in maintaining healthy romantic relationships. But couples involved in long-distance relationships experience a different set of challenges than geographically-close couples when it comes to maintaining and enjoying satisfying and stable relationships. Many long-distance couples rely on increased empathy and intrapersonal communication – in the form of imagined interactions – to release tension, rehearse conversations, and review and analyze conflicts. While forgiveness has been studied extensively in a variety of interpersonal settings, it has not been explicitly studied in relation to the usage of imagined interactions or in maintaining long-distance relationships. Moreover, even though a correlation between empathy and forgiveness has long been established, the interplay between these two constructs and intrapersonal communication and relational satisfaction has not been explored. The overarching goal of this study is to bridge the theoretical and conceptual gaps between forgiveness theory, empathy, imagined interactions (Symbolic Interactionism/schema, script or cognitive theory), relational satisfaction and relational maintenance strategies (Dialectical Theory). This study sampled participants in either a long-distance or geographically close romantic relationship (n=181). Although proximity did not discriminate for forgiveness, imagined interactions (IIs), empathy, conflict management as a relational maintenance strategy or relational satisfaction, use of IIs did significantly predict forgiveness and relational satisfaction. Additionally, forgiveness and use of imagined interactions together significantly predicted relational satisfaction. Finally, IIs were shown to be positively correlated with empathy, a significant finding considering the lack of research into that area of the otherwise well developed field of IIs

Exploring the Relationship Between Reputational Credit, Severity of a Transgression, Deservingness of Forgiveness and Forgiveness

This item is only available electronically.The act of forgiving is found to be driven by perceptions and motivations. That is, when an individual chooses to forgive, their choice is driven by a pro-social, benevolent response to a transgression (McCullough, Rachal, Sandage, Worthington, Brown & Hight, 1998). While the theoretical explanations for the process of forgiveness are fruitful in recent literature, empirical evidence on the underlying decision of why people deserve forgiveness and how victims come to the decision to forgive is still sparse in research. As such, the current study hypothesises that reputational credit is a predicting factor of deservingness of forgiveness, and that severity of a transgression moderates the relationship. Participants (N = 111) were asked to consider a close relationship with a person of whom they were still in contact with and evaluate this relationship using measures of reputational credit. Participants were then asked to reflect on a time where the person had hurt or upset them, and outcomes relating to perceived deservingness and executed forgiveness were measured. Results found a significant positive relationship between reputational credit and deservingness of forgiveness and the interaction effect of severity was approaching significance in a negative direction. Additional analyses were run to assess the interaction between reputational credit and transgression severity when forgiveness was the outcome variable, and a similar pattern of results were found for high levels of reputational credit. However, when reputational credit was low, incongruencies were identified between how transgression severity impacted deservingness of forgiveness and forgiveness.Thesis (B.PsychSc(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 202

The Relative Effects of Religion, Empathy, Anger, and Apology on Forgiveness

Researchers have begun elucidating the complex relationship between religion and forgiveness. This study examined the effects of religious measures on forgiveness beyond the variance explained by empathy, anger, and apology. Utilizing hierarchical multiple regression, this study investigated the predictive power of religious coping and Catholic religiosity on state forgiveness after controlling for the effects of the strongest known predictor variables: state empathy, state anger, and received apology. A discriminant function analysis allowed this researcher to conceptualize the religious variables further by comparing religious coping with Catholic religiosity. Parishioners from local Catholic churches were invited to participate in an online survey consisting of the positive and negative religious coping subscales of the Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE), Catholic faith practices, Batson\u27s Empathy Adjectives, Anger scale, Apology assessment, Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory--18 (TRIM-18), and a demographic questionnaire. Discriminant function analysis results indicated that among the religious variables Catholic religiosity was the strongest predictor of membership in the practicing Catholic group. Unexpectedly, hierarchical multiple regressions results showed Catholic religiosity demonstrated a small and significant effect size (f2 = .018) while positive and negative religious coping were not significant. The controlled variables (state empathy, state anger, and received apology) had greater predictive power for state forgiveness than the religious variables. These findings suggest that Catholic faith practices helped Catholic participants forgive interpersonal transgression

A Meta-Analysis of Relationship Quality and Transgression Severity as Predictors of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Forgiveness

This item is only available electronically.Forgiveness is a nebulous construct. There are many ways to define forgiveness, and as many ways to measure it. The two predominant ways to measure forgiveness are with relationship-focused measures (Interpersonal) and self-focused measures (Intrapersonal). With inconsistencies in predictor outcomes of forgiveness reported in forgiveness literature, this meta-analysis aimed to investigate whether the type of forgiveness measure used impacted upon these inconsistencies. To explore this issue, the current study meta-analysed results from 96 independent studies, exploring the correlations between Intrapersonal and Interpersonal forgiveness measures with two established predictors of forgiveness: Relationship Quality and Transgression Severity, to determine whether these predictor outcomes differed based on the type of measure used. The study hypothesised that Interpersonal measures would exhibit larger correlations between forgiveness and Relationship Quality and smaller correlations with Transgressions Severity, in comparison to Intrapersonal measures. Additionally, key study characteristics including the study design, transgression methodology and predictor measurement, were explored. Results demonstrated that contrary to expectations, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal measures reported similar effects on both predictors; with medium, positive correlations for Relationship Quality (r = .42, r = .38, respectively) and small negative correlations for Transgression Severity (r = -.26, r = -.23, respectively). These findings suggest that Intrapersonal and Interpersonal measures are consistently measuring forgiveness. However, additional exploratory analyses run on common Intrapersonal and Interpersonal measures showed discrepancy in predictor outcomes among the measure types. Thus, future research should investigate additional forgiveness predictors such as intent and apology, to shed more understandings into this matter.Thesis (B.PsychSc(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 201