Relationships between guilt and forgiveness in university students

Abstract

Aim: Guilt is defined as a self-conscious emotion generated from negative attributions of own behaviors. It is observed that people with guilt are less forgiving. There are different types of forgiveness. Guilt is expected to have a stronger effect on self-forgiveness than forgiving others and situations. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between guilt and different types of forgiveness in a group of university students. Methods: This research is in the correlational survey model. Research data was collected from 604 university students from Turkey in 2018. After confirming that the assumptions were adequately met, the relationships were examined through Pearson correlations and path (linear regression) analyses. Results: All variables were significantly correlated at the 0.01 statistical significance level. It was seen that the feeling of guilt predicted forgiveness and all sub-dimensions of forgiveness at a statistically significant level (p<0.01) but in the opposite direction. Thus, guilt strongly and adversely predicts forgiveness. Conclusion: Forgiveness is an important protective factor in increasing psychological resilience. Guilt stands out as an important risk factor for forgiveness. The most striking finding is that self-forgiveness is lower in individuals with a high sense of guilt. For this reason; as people’s sense of guilt decreases, it will be easier for them to forgive themselves. It is recommended that people who have difficulty in forgiving express their feelings of guilt as their other emotions in psychotherapy and psychological counseling sessions to help them relax and support their emotion regulation skills.