title: Self-forgiveness in romantic relationships: it matters to both of us.
abstract: This study investigates self-forgiveness for real hurts committed against the partner in a romantic relationship (N = 168 couples). Using a dyadic perspective, we evaluated whether offender self-forgiveness, conceived as a bidimensional construct distinct from self-excusing, was uniquely related to both own and partner relationship satisfaction. For both males and females, offending partners were more satisfied with their romantic relationship to the extent that they had more positive and less negative sentiment and thoughts toward themselves, whereas victimized partners were more satisfied with the relationship when the offending partner had less negative sentiment and thoughts (but not more positive ones) toward himself/herself. The implications of these findings for understanding self-forgiveness and its pro-relationship effects in romantic couples are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human and Social Sciences, Catholic University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pelucchi
authors.forename: F Giorgia
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Paleari
authors.forename: Camillo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Regalia
authors.forename: Frank D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Fincham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D061347:Forgiveness / Q000502:physiology*; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires