The Cambridge Handbook of International Prevention Science by Moshe Israelashvili & John L. Romano

Author:Moshe Israelashvili & John L. Romano [Israelashvili, Moshe & Romano, John L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Prevencion
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2016-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Public Health Costs of Unforgiveness

Health costs for individuals related to the ill effects of unforgiveness accumulate to yield public health costs. Worthington, Kulick, and Griffin (2014) presented data on potential public health benefits of forgiving. Their analyses were based on the conceptualization of unforgiveness as an emotional stress reaction, which many people experience as chronic stress. That leads to stress reactions, which are well documented to be related to physical health and mental health outcomes (for a review, see Sapolsky, 2004). Two indirect effects also occur that link forgiveness and better health. Forgiveness affects relationships – like good romantic relationships (Worthington et al., 2015), good family relationships (Kramer, Kavanaugh, Trentham-Dietz, Walsh, & Yonker, 2010), and good workplace relationships (Fehr & Gelfand, 2012). In each case, forgiveness promotes stronger emotional bonds between partners, family members, or workers, leading to stronger relationships overall. Sometimes, when people mistakenly believe that forgiveness most necessarily entails reconciliation, harm can occur to individuals or relationships; however, in that case, it is not forgiveness that leads to poor relational outcomes but a misunderstanding of what forgiveness is. Genuine forgiveness has consistently been found to be related to more positive physical health (for reviews, see Toussaint, Worthington, & Williams, 2015) and mental health (for a review, see Griffin et al., 2015b). Finally, forgiveness affects spirituality (Davis et al., 2013). There is a strong relationship between spiritual dwelling (i.e., stable and satisfying spiritual relationships), forgiveness, and positive health indices for most people (McCullough, Hoyt, Larson, Koenig, & Thoresen, 2000). Similarly, negative physical and mental health is often correlated with unforgiveness and with spiritual struggle, anger with God, or disappointment with God (Wood et al., 2010). Thus, stress-related disorders due to unforgiveness can affect people’s religion and spirituality, their relationships, their mental health, and their physical health. These relationships can be causal, but they are often, at a minimum, correlational. The accumulation of effects among individuals presents a public health concern, and stresses can spread through networks and communities.

Beyond the mere accumulation of individual problems, though, other public health issues might be experienced to the degree that society is characterized by more conflict, intractable disagreement, uncivil discourse, and conflict. When people within a society are likely to have frequent conflicts, social systems become crucibles of conflict, unforgiveness, interpersonal aggression, and intrapersonal stress-related disorders. Worthington et al. (2014) identified social and societal systems likely to be negatively affected by a general atmosphere of unforgiveness (see also Worthington & Berry, 2004). These include the following: police enforcement; the civil justice system; the criminal justice system; the prison system; health care systems and iatrogenic illness; workplace conflicts; domestic violence; alcoholism and substance-related problems; divorce; civility in domestic politics (i.e., Democrats vs. Republicans); and civility in socially divisive issues such as abortion, immigration, and health care. Perhaps these conflicts can be mitigated, and perhaps even prevented, with the practice and promotion of forgiveness.

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