Abstract
This study carried out systematic reviews on the attitudes to receiving forgiveness and self-forgiveness. Considering the lack of studies and the relevance of the themes, the aim was to understand how these attitudes have been investigated in recent publications. The articles were collected through the Periódicos Capes portal, and studies published between 2006 and 2016 were selected. In the receiving forgiveness’ review, the following descriptors were used: “receiving forgiveness” and “seeking forgiveness”, in Portuguese and English. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 articles were selected. It was highlighted the predominance of interest in the investigation of the motivation to receiving forgiveness, being this one of the objectives of most of the studies reviewed. These studies contributed to the knowledge of the attitude to receive forgiveness by establishing the factors, conditions or variables that favor the motivation to apologize or to seek forgiveness. Regarding self-forgiveness, the descriptor “self-forgiveness”, in Portuguese and English, was used. We selected 54 articles after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A considerable part of the studies sought to delimit and differentiate the processes of genuine self-forgiveness and pseudo self-forgiveness. These studies sought to establish how it is possible to genuinely self-forgive and explore the variables that play a significant role in this process. It is considered that the revisions made may help studies and actions that seek to encourage attitudes to receive forgiveness and self-forgiveness, allowing knowledge to make the actions more effective.
Receiving Forgiveness; Self-forgiveness; Systematic Review