title: A dark side to self-forgiveness: forgiving the self and its association with chronic unhealthy behaviour.
abstract: Contrary to conventional wisdom and extant empirical work, forgiving the self may have deleterious consequences, especially if self-forgiveness is granted for chronic unhealthy behaviours such as smoking. Among 181 smokers, it was predicted and found that increased self-forgiveness for smoking was associated with a decreased likelihood of advancing through the stages of behavioural change towards action. Moreover, forgiving the self, mediated the relationship between movements from the pre-contemplation to contemplation stage of change and perceived smoking cons as well as experiential processes. An expanded understanding of the benefits and costs of self-forgiveness is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Carleton University, Ontario, Canada. michael_wohl@carleton.ca
authors.forename: Michael J A
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wohl
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D012309:Risk-Taking; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult