Work

Moral transgressions, psychological well-being, and family conflict in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of self-forgiveness

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic led many individuals to experience moral transgressions, exacerbating feelings of guilt and remorse. This study explored the role of the self-forgiveness of such transgressions in explaining their associations with psychological well-being and family conflict. We hypothesized that (a) higher levels of self-forgiveness would be associated with greater psychological well-being and reduced family conflict, (b) the perceived relevance of moral transgressions would be positively associated with self-forgiveness and indirectly associated with psychological well-being and family conflict through the mediation of self-forgiveness, and (c) the relationships between the variables of interest could vary across age. METHOD: Adults (N = 277; M age = 30.04) completed anonymous online questionnaires assessing the relevance of transgressions committed, forgiveness and unforgiveness of self, psychological well-being, and family conflict during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling revealed that transgression relevance was positively associated with both forgiveness and unforgiveness of self, and indirectly related to psychological well-being and family conflict via self-forgiveness. Greater forgiveness of self was related to greater eudaimonic well-being, whereas greater unforgiveness of self was linked to increased family conflict and reduced eudaimonic well-being. The findings also indicated that age moderated the relationship between forgiveness of self and hedonic well-being, with the association weakening as age increased. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the importance of promoting self-forgiveness to enhance psychological resilience and familial stability, particularly during challenging times.

Source: BMC Psychology

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-025-02513-6

Authors: Francesca Giorgia Paleari, Lucrezia Cavagnis, Irem Ertan, Frank D. Fincham

Institutions: University of Bergamo, Florida State University

Language: English

Topic: Forgiveness and Related Behaviors

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,990