Relations Between Intimate Partner Violence and Forgiveness Among College Women.

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine forgiveness and intimate partner violence (IPV) among college women. Undergraduate women (N = 502) participated in an online study in which overall experiences of IPV, as well as experiences of psychological and physical IPV, were investigated with respect to transgression-specific and dispositional forgiveness. Simultaneous multivariate regressions revealed that (a) the experience of IPV was associated with higher levels of avoidance and revenge, and lower levels of benevolence, forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others, and forgiveness of uncontrollable situations; (b) types of IPV demonstrated differing impacts on forgiveness; and (c) the mere experience of IPV is more salient than its frequency.

Associations between women's experiences of sexual violence and forgiveness.

The purpose of this study was to examine forgiveness and sexual violence among college women. Undergraduate women (N = 503) completed an online survey assessing experiences of sexual violence and forgiveness. Simultaneous multivariate regressions revealed that experiencing more sexual violence was associated with more revenge and avoidance, and less benevolence. Furthermore, findings indicated that more experiences of sexual violence were negatively associated with forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others, and forgiveness of uncontrollable situations. This work begins to fill critical gaps in the extant literature because it is the only study to date that examines sexual violence and the positive psychological construct of forgiveness. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.