Looking at the Bright Side: Forgiveness and Subjective Well-Being in Divorced Spanish Parents

Sagrario Yárnoz-Yaben (), Alaitz Garmendia and Priscila Comino
Additional contact information
Sagrario Yárnoz-Yaben: University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
Alaitz Garmendia: University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
Priscila Comino: University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2016, vol. 17, issue 5, No 8, 1905-1919

Abstract: Abstract Marriage dissolution might cause frustration, resentment and pain. Forgiveness is view as an adaptive reaction that has positive effects on post-divorce adjustment and coparenting; but much remains unknown about the place of forgiveness in the subjective well-being of divorced parents. The objective of the present study was to analyze in a multidimensional model the role played by forgiveness in post-divorce subjective well-being, empirically examining the relationships between time since divorce, affect (positive and negative), forgiveness and satisfaction with life in a group of Spanish divorced parents. Data were collected from 223 divorced Spanish parents (58.3 % mothers) aged 21–64 years, and who had 1–3 children. Results showed that forgiveness and time since divorce partially mediated the effect of positive affect on satisfaction with life: individuals with high levels of positive affect, over time, were more forgiving of their ex-spouses, which in turn enhanced their satisfaction with life. The present study complements the existing literature about the importance of forgiveness in post-divorce coparenting highlighting the place of forgiveness in the subjective well-being of divorced parents.

Keywords: Forgiveness; Divorce; Subjective well-being; Satisfaction with life; Positive affect; Negative affect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-015-9677-x Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:17:y:2016:i:5:d:10.1007_s10902-015-9677-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... fe/journal/10902/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s10902-015-9677-x

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Happiness Studies is currently edited by Antonella Delle Fave

More articles in Journal of Happiness Studies from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().