Integrating theories of attachment and forgiveness, we predicted that secure attachment reduces angry rumination and promotes forgiveness. To examine this prediction, in Study 1 (n = 213), participants completed the Experience in Close Relationships Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998) and the Trait Forgiveness Scale (TFS; Berry, Worthington, O’Connor, Parrott, & Wade, 2005). Individuals who were classified as securely attached displayed greater dispositional forgivingness than did insecurely attached individuals. In Study 2 (n = 218) we included the Dissipation-Rumination Scale (DRS; Caprara, 1986). Results from Study 2 replicated the association between attachment security and greater dispositional forgivingness and confirmed the mediating role of angry rumination in the attachment–forgivingness relation.
Greek scholars used the word aphiemi, or forgiveness, to describe letting go or voluntarily setting aside an obligation or punishment. Contemporary scholars suggest that forgiveness encourages constructive behaviors and positive feelings toward the offender ( Finkel et al., 2002 and Worthington, 2005). Regardless of how one defines forgiveness, it has been shown to have a variety of advantages including promoting trust and reconciliation in relationships, improved mental well-being and physical health, and reduced negative affect ( Finkel et al., 2002, Toussaint and Webb, 2005 and Worthington, 2005). However, despite the benefits associated with forgiveness some individuals have a more difficult time reaching forgiveness. For example, less forgiving people are higher in neuroticism and anxiety (e.g., McCullough et al., 2001 and Walker and Gorsuch, 2002), are more likely to ruminate ( Berry, Worthington, O’Connor, Parrott, & Wade, 2005), and are more likely to display such relationship-damaging emotions as anger and hostility ( Thompson et al., 2005).
In the current article, we extend the research on individual differences in propensity to forgive suggesting that dispositional forgiveness across time and situations (called forgivingness; Roberts, 1995) will be integrally related to one’s general orientation toward relationships. Specifically, we report two studies that indicate that dispositional attachment style is related to forgivingness and demonstrate that the attachment–forgivingness link is mediated by angry rumination.
