Date

8-29-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Jichan Kim

Keywords

Forgiveness, Self-forgiveness, Divine forgiveness, Rumination

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

A growing body of research supports empirical evidence that the ability to self-forgive benefits mental, emotional, and physical health. Recent literature has documented the predictive relationship between divine forgiveness and self-forgiveness. However, little attention has been given to the cognitive processes that may influence this relationship. Furthermore, research on forgiveness has largely overlooked the older adult population, despite forgiveness being shown to be a developmental construct. This quantitative correlational study examined the relationship between offense-specific divine forgiveness, rumination, and self-forgiveness in individuals aged 60 and older. Data were collected from 101 participants through an anonymous online survey utilizing previously validated measures of offense-specific divine forgiveness, self-forgiveness, and rumination. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression analyses were conducted, and a moderation analysis was performed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS to test the interaction effect. Results indicated that higher levels of perceived divine forgiveness were significantly associated with greater self-forgiveness, while higher rumination was significantly associated with lower self-forgiveness. However, rumination did not significantly moderate the relationship between divine and self-forgiveness. These findings underscore the independent importance of both forgiveness from a divine source and an individual’s cognitive processing style in shaping self-forgiveness outcomes in later life, while also suggesting that these variables operate in parallel rather than interactively.

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