A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Forgiveness and its determinants depending on the interpersonal context of hurt
Authors: Peets K, Hodges EVE, Salmivalli C
Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
Publication year: 2013
Journal: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
Journal name in source: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY
Journal acronym: J EXP CHILD PSYCHOL
Number in series: 1
Volume: 114
Issue: 1
First page : 131
Last page: 145
Number of pages: 15
ISSN: 0022-0965
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2012.05.009
Abstract
Children and adolescents encounter different hurtful experiences in school settings. How these events are processed (e.g., whether they think that the transgressor was hostile) is likely to depend on the relationship with the transgressor. In this study, we examined how adolescents (58 girls and 35 boys, mean age = 14.03 - years, SD = 0.60) dealt with the hurt caused by someone they liked or disliked. Our findings show that the hurt caused by a disliked transgressor is likely to lead to more negative cognitive (e.g., hostile attributions), affective (e.g., feelings of anger), and motivational (e.g., avoidance/revenge) outcomes than the hurt caused by a liked peer. In addition, we found that associations between cognitive processes and avoidance/revenge were mediated by feelings of anger, but only when the transgression occurred in the context of disliking. These results highlight the importance of studying how adolescents process hurtful experiences in different relational contexts. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Children and adolescents encounter different hurtful experiences in school settings. How these events are processed (e.g., whether they think that the transgressor was hostile) is likely to depend on the relationship with the transgressor. In this study, we examined how adolescents (58 girls and 35 boys, mean age = 14.03 - years, SD = 0.60) dealt with the hurt caused by someone they liked or disliked. Our findings show that the hurt caused by a disliked transgressor is likely to lead to more negative cognitive (e.g., hostile attributions), affective (e.g., feelings of anger), and motivational (e.g., avoidance/revenge) outcomes than the hurt caused by a liked peer. In addition, we found that associations between cognitive processes and avoidance/revenge were mediated by feelings of anger, but only when the transgression occurred in the context of disliking. These results highlight the importance of studying how adolescents process hurtful experiences in different relational contexts. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.