Forgiveness and interpersonal skills in same-sexed friendships

Although forgiveness is a largely interpersonal process, little research has examined the relationship between forgiveness and the interpersonal skills that may be important in forgiving another for an offence. The current study addressed this issue by investigating the relationship between forgiveness and interpersonal skills in same-sexed friendships among a community sample of 210 people (mean age 38.32 years). Each participant completed the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (Thompson et al., 2005), which assesses forgiveness of self, others, and situations; and the same-sex friend version of the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, & Reis, 1988) which assesses skills in initiation, negative assertion, self-disclosure, emotional support, and conflict management. Positive correlations were found between all five interpersonal skills and the three types of forgiveness, with only the relationship between forgiveness of others and negative assertion failing to reach significance. Separate hierarchical regressions were conducted to predict each type of forgiveness, with age and gender entered at Step 1 and the interpersonal skills variables entered at Step 2. Age, initiation skills, and conflict management skills each contributed uniquely to the prediction of all three types of forgiveness. Discussion centres around the relationship between forgiveness and interpersonal skills

Do Christian concepts and principles have a place in academia? A case study in integration

[Abstract]: Australian psychologists have sometimes been reluctant to incorporate religious issues into their teaching. While the reasons for this reluctance are sometimes well-founded (e.g., a desire not to impose religious values on students), the omission of religious content can also have negative consequences (e.g., inadequate preparation of psychology graduates to deal with faith issues that arise in therapy). In this paper, it will be argued that religious issues can be successfully integrated into the teaching of psychology, provided certain safeguards are met. In particular, a case study will be provided of a course entitled “Religious Issues in Counselling” that was successfully taught in a psychology department at a secular university over a five-year period. As census figures indicate that Christianity is the main religion endorsed by Australians, Christian concepts and principles made up the bulk of that course and will be the main focus of this paper. The advantages and challenges associated with teaching such a course will be outlined, and future directions and implications for the teaching of psychology will be considered

Helping adults who were adopted as children

[Introduction]: Like most other western countries, there was something of a boom period in adoptions in Australia between the 50s and the mid-70s, with those adopted children of course now being adults. Although changes to legislation in the early 90s have made it easier to access adoption records, those adopted in the closed era still continue to teach us about the lifelong nature of adoption. For the last 10 years, my colleagues and I have been conducting research on issues facing these adult adoptees. In this paper, I will focus mainly on two of those studies. The first involved a comparison of 100 adult adoptees and 100 non-adoptees in terms of self-esteem, identity processing styles, and perceptions of the parenting they received from their adoptive parents. The second study involved comparisons of a further group of adoptees and non-adoptees, and included two questionnaire phases and an interview phase. We looked at variables such as attachment, adult relationships, secrecy, depression, emotional arousability, and search and reunion issues. Both studies focused on Anglo-Australian participants because (a) they were the most common adoptions in Australia during that era, and (b) indigenous and international adoptions raise a host of other issues unique to those situations. However, many of the points I cover would also be relevant to other groups of adoptees. In this paper, I’ll be focusing on some of the main findings and the implications of those findings for practitioners. More details about the methodologies can be found in the publications listed at the end of this paper

Adoption and the Father Heart of God: helping adoptees deal With issues of identity and loss

While all people have to deal with issues of identity and loss at different stages in their lives, the impact of these issues can be intensified in adoptees. Not only have they experienced loss early in their lives, but their search for identity is typically more complex than that of their non-adopted peers. The Christian counselor is in a unique position to help adopted clients deal with these issues. This paper begins with an overview of identity and loss issues relevant to those adopted as children, followed by a Biblical perspective on these issues. The paper concludes with some practical suggestions for the Christian counselor seeking to help adoptees reach their potential in Christ

Birth fathers' perspectives on reunions with their relinquished children

As part of a larger study, 20 birth fathers from Australia and overseas were surveyed regarding their contact or reunion experiences with their children. In all cases, the children had been relinquished for adoption as infants and were now adults. Qualitative data were analysed to identify themes that were associated with satisfying or dissatisfying aspects of the contact or reunion experiences. The first contact was typically associated with strong emotional responses. A degree of mutuality, in which the adoptee also wanted contact, was helpful in establishing a positive first contact experience for the birth father. Satisfying ongoing reunion relationships were associated with regular contact, shared experiences, and close, supportive relationships. Less satisfying reunions sometimes involved less contact, a mismatch of the birth fathers’ and adoptees’ needs, and difficulties with the developing relationships. As birth fathers with positive reunion experiences were overrepresented in this study, more research is needed to further elucidate factors that contribute to dissatisfying reunions. Further research would also benefit from more in-depth interview data. Implications of the findings for adoption practitioners are discussed

Reunions of adoptees who have met both birth parents: post-reunion relationships and factors that facilitate and hinder the reunion process

Eighteen adoptees who had met both their birth mothers and birth fathers were surveyed in order to determine (a) the types of post-reunion relationships they developed with each birth parent and (b) the factors that facilitated or hindered their reunions. While adoptees were more likely to develop a personal rather than non-personal relationship with birth mothers, relationships with birth fathers were more evenly divided between personal and non-personal relationships. Thematic analysis revealed some similarities in the factors that influence reunions with each birth parent (e.g., birth parent characteristics, support from others), though some differences also emerged (e.g., reactions to pregnancy and relinquishment). Issues of kinship, identity, and family structure are discussed, along with implications for counseling

Openness and secrecy in adoptive families and possible effects on the interpersonal relationships of adult adoptees

The aim of the current study was to investigate the possible impact that secrecy within adoptive families can have on the interpersonal relationships of adult adoptees. As part of a larger study, 144 adoptees completed a variety of relationship measures and questionnaires tapping openness/secrecy and parental characteristics within the adoptive families. Those whose adoptive families were more open and honest tended to be closer to their adoptive parents and report that their parents had been more caring and less controlling. In contrast, those whose adoptive families were more secretive scored higher on measures of social and family loneliness, avoidant and anxious attachment, and risk in intimacy. Fifty-seven of the participants were interviewed further about their adoptive experiences and interpersonal relationships. Thematic analysis indicated that openness in adoptive families was helpful in providing adoptees with a model for their own interpersonal relationships and also in assisting adoptees with identity, search, and reunion issues. Conversely, secrecy in adoptive families often led to difficulties in relationships with the adoptive family and general identity and trust issues. Secrecy also seemed to impact negatively on search and reunion experiences. The implications of these findings for adoption practice and counselling will be discussed

Adoption, adult attachment security, and relationship outcomes

Despite reports that adopted persons are destined for poor psychological and relational adjustment, this conclusion remains controversial. Previous research on this topic has been inconclusive, and has failed to provide a complex assessment of the predictors of adjustment. For instance, whether attachment security plays a key role in later relationship outcomes remains unresolved. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study of adults who were adopted as infants, and a comparison sample of adults who grew up with both biological parents. Two research questions were addressed: differences in attachment security between the two samples, and the predictive relations between initial attachment scales and relationship variables (e.g., risk in intimacy, loneliness) assessed at follow-up. Attachment profiles at Time 1 indicated less security in the adopted sample than the comparison sample, and these differences were maintained at follow-up. However, adoptees who had not searched for birth relatives did not differ from the comparison sample. Although adoption status (adopted/comparison) was an important predictor of some relationship variables, it became less influential when attachment measures were included. Discussion focused on the complex factors that influence attachment security, and the need for in-depth study of the relational experiences of adopted people

Parental bonding and religiosity as predictors of dispositional forgiveness

As part of a larger study, eighty-nine Christian adults from the general community were surveyed to determine the extent to which dispositional forgiveness could be predicted from religiosity and parental bonding variables (i.e., mother and father care and overprotection). Participants ranged in age from 18 to 66 years (M = 40.21 years). Care and overprotection were measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker, Tupling & Brown, 1979), dispositional forgiveness was measured by the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (Thompson et al., 2005), and religiosity was assessed via an item that tapped the extent to which participants‘ religious beliefs were important to them. Separate hierarchical regressions were used to predict forgiveness of self, others, and situations. Age and gender were entered at Step 1, religiosity at Step 2, and the four parental bonding variables at Step 3. Age and mother care were the strongest predictors of forgiveness of self, such that older participants who perceived their mothers as caring were more forgiving. The full model accounted for 22.1% of the variance in forgiveness of self. However,religiosity was important in predicting forgiveness of others and situations. For forgiveness of others, religiosity was the only variable that made a unique significant contribution to the prediction, with the full model explaining 28.8% of the variance. For forgiveness of situations, age and religiosity were the only variables that made unique significant contributions, with the full model explaining 24.9% of the variance.Mother care may have been more important than religiosity in predicting forgiveness of self due to the importance of mother care in the development of a healthy self-esteem. Religiosity may have beenimportant in predicting forgiveness of others and situations due to specific Christian beliefs regarding those aspects of forgiveness. These results have implications for counselling, particularly when dealing with different types of forgiveness. Due to the relatively small sample size, further replications are required in order to clarify and extend the current finding

Depression, emotional arousability, and perceptions of parenting in adult adoptees and non-adoptees

Adult adoptees (n = 144) and non-adoptees (n = 131) were surveyed in order to investigate (1) the relative contributions of adoptive status and parental variables to measures of adjustment, and (2) possible differences between searching and non-searching adoptees. Parental variables were more important than adoptive status in predicting depression, though adoptive status and perceptions of parenting were both significant predictors of emotional arousability. Searchers reported lower levels of parental care, acceptance, and supervision than nonsearchers. However, there was also variability among searchers depending on their motives for searching. Implications for counseling are discussed, particularly in relation to the diversity among adoptees