LIFE SATISFACTION AND INTERPERSONAL PROBLEM SOLVING IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF FORGIVENESS

The present study examined the mediating role of forgiveness on the association between life satisfaction, and interpersonal problem solving approaches. Participants include 393 undergraduates (232 females and 161 males) from a university in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia region. Data were collected using the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Interpersonal Problem Solving Inventory, and the Heartland Forgiveness Scale. Correlational results indicated that life satisfaction and forgiveness were significantly positively associated with positive interpersonal problem solving approaches and life satisfaction and forgiveness were significantly negatively associated with negative interpersonal problem solving approaches The mediation role of forgiveness was tested using the two-step structural equation modeling and bootstrapping. Structural equation modeling results indicated that forgiveness partially mediated the impact of life satisfaction on positive and negative interpersonal problem solving approaches. Bootstrapping showed that life satisfaction exerted a significant indirect effect on positive and negative interpersonal problem solving approaches via forgivenes. The findings emphasized the role of youth forgiveness in explaining the relationship between life satisfaction, and interpersonal problem solving approaches. The possible explanations and limitations are discussed.  Article visualizations