Forgiving self and others: attachment insecurities, psychopathic traits and self-conscious affect and response tendencies

Abstract Background While the interest in forgiveness has attracted much interest in recent years as researchers and clinicians both recognize its value for maintaining emotional well-being, physical health, and relationships, more research is needed to identify potential determinants. This study examined attachment insecurities (anxiety, avoidance), psychopathic personality traits (primary and secondary), self-conscious affect (shame and guilt proneness), and related response tendencies (externalization, detachment) to examine how they relate to self-forgiveness and forgiving others. Methods A community sample of 459 adults ( M = 29.42, SD = 11.02) completed a battery of self-reports and vignettes assessing the variables under study. Results Results indicate that attachment insecurities (avoidance and anxiety) were directly (self-forgiveness) and indirectly (forgiveness of others) associated with impaired forgiveness. Self-forgiveness was negatively associated with shame and positively associated with detachment, while forgiving others was negatively associated with externalization, secondary psychopathic traits (indirectly) and positively associated with guilt. Conclusion Overall, the findings highlight the multidimensional nature of forgiveness and suggest that its associations with attachment insecurities vary according to personality characteristics, self-conscious emotions and response tendencies examined, signifying the need to incorporate these findings when developing interventions promoting forgiveness.