Letting bygones be bygones: further evidence for the validity of the Tendency to Forgive scale

The present study examined the validity of three putative measures of dispositional forgiveness, as well as a measure of trait rumination, with respect to measures of mental health and forgiveness for a specific offense. Two hundred undergraduates completed the Tendency to Forgive scale, the Attitudes Toward Forgiveness scale, the Transgression Narrative Test of Forgivingness, and a multi-dimensional measure of trait rumination, along with measures of depression, life satisfaction, self-esteem, agreeableness, neuroticism, attachment, and aggression. Participants also recounted a specific offense they had experienced and reported the extent to which they had forgiven their offender. Results strongly supported the discriminant validity of the Tendency to Forgive scale with regard to both mental health (depression and life satisfaction) and state forgiveness. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.