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Forgiveness and Marital Satisfaction: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This study aimed to conduct a systematic review on forgiveness associated with marital satisfaction, enabling a better empirical integration of the literature on them. Despite the emergent interdisciplinarity, the true association between these constructs still raise many doubts, indicating the inconsistency in studies on this topic. Thus, this study conducted a retrospective search for articles published up from 1900 in the Academic Search Complete, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, PsycCritiques, Psychology, and Behavioral Sciences Collection databases, identifying 516 studies. After applying strict predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 25 studies published between 2002 and 2016 were selected for a critical analysis. The results indicate that most studies rely on a multidimensional conceptualization of forgiveness, resulting in a positive motivational dimension (benevolence) and the renouncement to a negative motivational state (revenge, avoidance or retaliation). Forgiveness and marital satisfaction were also positively and bidirectionally associated, with forgiveness promoting higher levels of marital satisfaction and higher levels of marital satisfaction promoting greater forgiveness. However, most of the studies adopted a cross-sectional design, limiting exploration and conclusions regarding the direction of causal relationships between the two constructs. Further studies on the theme, with more complex methodological designs, are essential for a more rigorous understanding and the broadening of the field of studies.

Keywords:
Forgiveness; Marital satisfaction; Conjugality; Systematic review

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