Moral Transgressions, Psychological Well-being, and Family Conflict in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Self-forgiveness

Overview

Journal BMC Psychol

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Psychology

Date 2025 Mar 5

PMID 40038826

Authors

Francesca Giorgia Paleari

Lucrezia Cavagnis

Irem Ertan

Frank D Fincham

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic led many individuals to experience moral transgressions, exacerbating feelings of guilt and remorse. This study explored the role of the self-forgiveness of such transgressions in explaining their associations with psychological well-being and family conflict. We hypothesized that (a) higher levels of self-forgiveness would be associated with greater psychological well-being and reduced family conflict, (b) the perceived relevance of moral transgressions would be positively associated with self-forgiveness and indirectly associated with psychological well-being and family conflict through the mediation of self-forgiveness, and (c) the relationships between the variables of interest could vary across age.

Method: Adults (N = 277; M age = 30.04) completed anonymous online questionnaires assessing the relevance of transgressions committed, forgiveness and unforgiveness of self, psychological well-being, and family conflict during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Italy.

Results: Structural equation modeling revealed that transgression relevance was positively associated with both forgiveness and unforgiveness of self, and indirectly related to psychological well-being and family conflict via self-forgiveness. Greater forgiveness of self was related to greater eudaimonic well-being, whereas greater unforgiveness of self was linked to increased family conflict and reduced eudaimonic well-being. The findings also indicated that age moderated the relationship between forgiveness of self and hedonic well-being, with the association weakening as age increased.

Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of promoting self-forgiveness to enhance psychological resilience and familial stability, particularly during challenging times.

References

Tavakol M, Dennick R . Making sense of Cronbach's alpha. Int J Med Educ. 2016; 2:53-55. PMC: 4205511. DOI: 10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd. View

Pietromonaco P, Overall N . Applying relationship science to evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic may impact couples' relationships. Am Psychol. 2020; 76(3):438-450. DOI: 10.1037/amp0000714. View

Lee S, Neimeyer R, O Mancini V, Breen L . Unfinished business and self-blaming emotions among those bereaved by a COVID-19 death. Death Stud. 2022; 46(6):1297-1306. DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2022.2067640. View

Paleari F, Ertan I, Cavagnis L, Donato S . Family Resilience and Dyadic Coping during the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: Their Protective Role in Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(18). PMC: 10530876. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20186719. View

Toussaint L, Owen A, Cheadle A . Forgive to live: forgiveness, health, and longevity. J Behav Med. 2011; 35(4):375-86. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-011-9362-4. View

Polman E, Reich T, Maglio S . Elasticity of emotions to multiple interpersonal transgressions. Emotion. 2023; 24(3):648-662. DOI: 10.1037/emo0001286. View

Munoz-Lopez S, Molina-Garcia P, Gutierrez-Cruz C, Ubago-Diaz R, Romero-Ayuso D, Ariza-Vega P . The influence of meaningful activities in the quality of life and functional autonomy of adults with intellectual disability: A prospective study during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2023; 36(3):538-546. DOI: 10.1111/jar.13077. View

Thompson L, Snyder C, Hoffman L, Michael S, Rasmussen H, Billings L . Dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations. J Pers. 2005; 73(2):313-59. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00311.x. View

Pelucchi S, Paleari F, Regalia C, Fincham F . Self-forgiveness in romantic relationships: it matters to both of us. J Fam Psychol. 2013; 27(4):541-9. DOI: 10.1037/a0032897. View

10.

Maison D, Jaworska D, Adamczyk D, Affeltowicz D . The challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the way people deal with them. A qualitative longitudinal study. PLoS One. 2021; 16(10):e0258133. PMC: 8504766. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258133. View

11.

Torales J, OHiggins M, Castaldelli-Maia J, Ventriglio A . The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2020; 66(4):317-320. DOI: 10.1177/0020764020915212. View

12.

Woodyatt L, Wenzel M, Ferber M . Two pathways to self-forgiveness: A hedonic path via self-compassion and a eudaimonic path via the reaffirmation of violated values. Br J Soc Psychol. 2017; 56(3):515-536. DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12194. View

13.

Jeon S, Lee D, Weems C . COVID-19 and Family Distancing Efforts: Contextual Demographic and Family Conflict Correlates. J Fam Issues. 2024; 44(6):1662-1695. PMC: 9174139. DOI: 10.1177/0192513X211055123. View

14.

Fischer I, Norman S, Feder A, Feingold J, Peccoralo L, Ripp J . Downstream consequences of moral distress in COVID-19 frontline healthcare workers: Longitudinal associations with moral injury-related guilt. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2022; 79:158-161. PMC: 9664834. DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2022.11.003. View

15.

Carmassi C, Bertelloni C, Gesi C, Conversano C, Stratta P, Massimetti G . New DSM-5 PTSD guilt and shame symptoms among Italian earthquake survivors: Impact on maladaptive behaviors. Psychiatry Res. 2017; 251:142-147. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.11.026. View

16.

Bentler P . Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychol Bull. 1990; 107(2):238-46. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238. View

17.

Ammar A, Chtourou H, Boukhris O, Trabelsi K, Masmoudi L, Brach M . COVID-19 Home Confinement Negatively Impacts Social Participation and Life Satisfaction: A Worldwide Multicenter Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(17). PMC: 7503681. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17176237. View

18.

Wolf E, Harrington K, Clark S, Miller M . Sample Size Requirements for Structural Equation Models: An Evaluation of Power, Bias, and Solution Propriety. Educ Psychol Meas. 2015; 76(6):913-934. PMC: 4334479. DOI: 10.1177/0013164413495237. View

19.

Salfi F, Amicucci G, Corigliano D, Viselli L, DAtri A, Tempesta D . Two years after lockdown: Longitudinal trajectories of sleep disturbances and mental health over the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effects of age, gender and chronotype. J Sleep Res. 2022; 32(3):e13767. PMC: 9878065. DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13767. View

20.

Arslan G, Yildirim M, Karatas Z, Kabasakal Z, Kilinc M . Meaningful Living to Promote Complete Mental Health Among University Students in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Ment Health Addict. 2020; 20(2):930-942. PMC: 7609355. DOI: 10.1007/s11469-020-00416-8. View