A study conducted by Gambarao in 2002 was conducted "to effect emotional regulation with children," (Knutson 2008:195). Enright's model of forgiveness was found to be incredibly successful in helping children forgive their injurers and move past the harmful injury which could have previous caused them to harbor resentment and affect their adult lives.
However, children are not the only population to have been studied within the context of Enright's forgiveness process model. One of the many empirical studies to use Enright's model was that of Waltman's 2002 study which focused primarily on older adults. Waltman focused on adults who were of middle age or older in order to facilitate real and true forgiveness within adults who were nearing the end of their lives as a way to improve the quality of that remaining existence. This study incorporated forgiveness for a number of assaults which had caused the injured parties to harbor resentment which then affected their daily lives. The forgiveness process model was then successfully used as a method to help make peace with the injurers, who may or may not have been a part of the therapeutic process. Waltman's study showed favorable results in the lives of older adults, who were then able to become greater contributors to the human community with more empathy towards all types of people within that larger communal body.
Another major study actually did focus on married couples who were in the midst of an infidelity. A 2003 study conducted by Knutson focused on married couples who had experienced an act of infidelity which had proved incredibly damaging to the marital relationship. This is very similar to the context of the current body of research, but was very limited in its design. Although it found favorable results within the practice of the forgiveness model as a therapeutic practice, researchers admitted that their sample size was incredibly limited, which may have negative ramifications on the implementation of its findings. According to researchers, the sample population was largely limited to older couples of European descent, thus eliminating a large percentage of married couples who have also experienced the pain and harmful affects of infidelity. The sample size was also very small, leading researchers to believe that a larger and more diverse sample population would have produced stronger results which could have had much more of an impact on therapeutic practices within couple's therapy.
With these studies in mind, it is clear that more research is needed involving a younger and more diverse population of married couples. Research has shown that "These studies offer a starting point for future work to examine forgiveness and rumination variables in a fashion that allows for clear conclusions about their casual ordering and their unique contributions to mental health," (Worthington 2005:358). Thus, it is the aim of this research to provide real results on a younger and more ethnically diverse population which can then be used as a model for a larger therapeutic method for all types of couples, young and old, European and other. According to research more studies are necessary on younger couples, for "As yet, treatment-outcome studies on the use of forgiveness in couple's therapy are still scarce, although the concept of forgiveness is quite prominent in the clinical and theoretical literature," (Worthington 2005:409).
Therefore the population of this research will be of young adults of all races and ethnicities. Couples from ages 18-34 will incorporate the sample body of this research. It is also imperative that this sample boy include a variety of ethnicities and races, in order to provide broader finings that permeate beyond cultural boundaries. Typically, this population can include both students and working professionals who, other than being married are largely unattached. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 58% percent of the population of those 18-34 were married by the year 2000 (Farley & Haaga 2000). However, almost less than half of that population had children within the mix of their family relations. The large lack of children within this age group allows researchers an interesting glimpse into a relationship with les attachments, and therefore less reasons for a couple to stay together after an act of infidelity. With no children present, a couple has that much less of a reason to work through an infidelity. Thus, this age group has less pressure to forgive from external sources, leaving the option for true forgiveness to be a pure decision of the individuals involved in the relationship.
Additionally, this population has a much different view of what constitutes an adulterous act than previous generations. Studies with older...
Forgiveness on human health. In its simplest form, the purpose of the study is to evaluate human psychological stress that might constitute a risk factor for heart disease. Further, the study will also evaluate the impact of forgiveness on heart disease. However, such a simple dissertation clearly demands further definition. What, exactly, do we signify when we speak of heart disease? What is properly considered as forgiveness? What impact does
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