Forgiveness and mental Well-being: a transnational comparison
| Date | 19 September 2022 |
| Pages | 407-415 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-07-2022-0048 |
| Published date | 19 September 2022 |
| Author | Reginald U. Amanze,Jerome Carson |
Forgiveness and mental Well-being: a
transnational comparison
Reginald U. Amanze and Jerome Carson
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study was to investigate forgiveness and mental well-being amongst
Forgiveness and mental well-being were investigated amongst British European and Nigerian African
samples to compare and determine the similarities and differences in dispositional forgiveness levels
between the two populations conducted in terms of their general samples, gender and age and the
difference in mental well-being scores between the two samples. Finally, the relationship between
forgivenessand mental well-being in bothgroups was examined.
Design/methodology/approach –The Bolton Forgiveness Scale and the Short Warwick–Edinburgh
Mental Well-BeingScale were administered to the participants(Nigerian n= 1,164, British n= 855). SPSS
was used to analyse data; a series of t-test was conducted; and Eta-squared and Z-value were
calculatedto determine the magnitude of each significantdifference among variables and the magnitude
of the differencein the correlation coefficientamong variables, respectively.
Findings –Statistically significant results suggested significant differences in the way and manner dispositional
forgiveness is conceptualised and practised within one group relative to the oth er, whereas non-significant results
indicated similarities in forgiveness opinions and practises between the two groups . Overall British sample, men
and those aged 36–55 reported higher levels of forgiveness than their Nigerian c ounterparts. However, Nigerians
under the age of 35 reported higher levels of forgiveness than their Briti sh counterparts, and there was no
statistically significant difference between the forgiveness levels of Bri tish and Nigerian women. Furthermore, the
British total sample, men and women, all had higher well-being scores t han their Nigerian counterparts.
Research limitations/implications –Forgivenessvaries according to culture. The findingsof this study
suggest that the individualistic/collectivistic cultural arguments long held by some authors may not
adequately explainthe differences and similarities in forgivenessconceptualization and practise across
cultures.As a result, research may focus on a variety of factors suchas educational background, income,
socioeconomiclevel and religion, among others. Second,consistent with previous studies, this research
suggests that forgiveness is positively related to mental health and well-being. Finally, one of the
limitations of this study is its exclusive focus on two countries, namely, the UK and Nigeria. Future
researchcould include more countries with both individualisticand collectivistic societies.
Originality/value –This paper, which is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first to examine
forgiveness andmental well-being in a comparative perspectivebetween British European and Nigerian
African samples,has made a unique contribution to the forgiveness and mental well-beingliterature and
in particular, has provided a solid foundation and resources for future research of a similar nature in
Africa,where little or no research had been conducted previously.
Keywords Forgiveness, Mental well-being, Psychological health, Transnational comparison, Culture
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Forgiveness is viewed as a crucial character trait rooted in a pa rticular cultural reality that in
turn determines and impacts largely social connections and interactions (Sandag e et al.,
2003). Considering this, research should take into account the cultural perspec tives in its
forgiveness conceptualization. Cultural commonalities have been re ported by previous
literature (Ho and Fung, 2011;Flicker and T Bui, 2018;Owen, 2008), for example, emotional
responses such as sympathy and empathy for the offender and behavioural respons es such
Reginald U. Amanze and
Jerome Carson both are
based at the Department of
Psychology, University of
Bolton, Bolton, UK.
Compliance with ethical stand-
ards: All procedures
performed in the current study
involving human participants
were in accordance with the
ethical standards of the ethics
committee of the Department of
Psychology University of Bolton
UK in line with the British
Psychological Society guideline
(BPS, 2018), and with the 1964
Helsinki Declaration and its
later amendments or
comparable ethical standards.
Informed consent: Informed
consent was obtained from all
individual adult participants
included in the study.
DOI 10.1108/MHSI-07-2022-0048 VOL. 28 NO. 5 2024, pp. 407-415, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308 jMENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION jPAGE 407
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