Aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australia : the dilemma of apologies, forgiveness, and reconciliation

This article presents a qualitative study of the indigenous Australian perspective on reconciliation with nonindigenous Australia, with a focus on the role of an apology for the oppression and violence perpetrated by nonindigenous Australians, and forgiveness on the part of indigenous Australians. A brief historical analysis of the relationship between Aborigines and waves of settlers is presented to demonstrate the extent of the wrong that was perpetrated against Aborigines and the need for social as well as practical reconciliation in the current context. It is argued that negotiated forgiveness is a concept that is pertinent to the discussion of reconciliation, because it requires a dialogue between the parties and ultimately for the wrongdoer to accept accountability and responsibility for offending actions, thereby opening the door for forgiveness and, ultimately, possible reconciliation. It is suggested that a first step in the required reconciliation dialogue is an apology, but the issue of who should give and receive an apology is a complex one. The issue of who should forgive and who should be forgiven is shown to be similarly complex. Qualitative analysis of interview data from 10 participants indicated that at this point in time, forgiveness might not be salient to the indigenous population, whose primary focus is more on the matter of an apology. This suggests that negotiated forgiveness and reconciliation will remain elusive goals until the matter of an apology is resolved.

Promoting forgiveness in violent offenders: A more positive approach to offender rehabilitation?

In this paper we suggest that the effectiveness of many offender rehabilitation programs may be further enhanced by the inclusion of interventions that build on existing motivation to change. Taking the example of anger management interventions delivered within the context of violent offender rehabilitation, we propose that the emphasis on positive personal change implicit in therapies designed to promote forgiveness may hold some promise. Such therapies may be useful in so far as they facilitate the development of perspective-taking skills, and assist in the therapeutic management of shame and guilt in ways that are likely to be engaging for violent offenders.

Forgiveness, empathy and gender - a Malaysian perspective

Recent theorising has suggested that in non-Western collectivist contexts, the need for social harmony may play a greater role than empathy in motivating forgiveness, and that women may be more impacted than men by this cultural value. In this study, a sample of 233 Malaysian undergraduate students, 100 males and 133 females, recruited from four English-mediated universities completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory-12 (TRIM-12) to assess dimensions of empathy and forgiveness. Women exhibited greater empathic concern than men, but not greater perspective-taking. Men were less forgiving in terms of revenge-seeking behaviour, but men and women did not differ in avoidance of transgressors. The relationships between empathic concern and both facets of forgiveness were similar for men and women, as was the relationship between empathic concern and avoidance. However, the relationship between perspective-taking and avoidance was stronger among men than women. We found little support for the prediction that in this collectivist cultural context, perspective-taking would play a greater role than empathic concern in forgiveness. Further research is recommended to explore empathy and forgiveness in non-Western populations, with a need to take into account cultural factors.

Spirituality and sexual abuse: issues and dilemmas for survivors

Sexual abuse profoundly affects survivors to the extent that they are unable to maintain previously held viewpoints or ways of being, including those relating to their spirituality. Certainly the experience has considerable potential to complicate the spiritual lives of survivors. For Christian survivors, this may include how they perceive and relate to both themselves and God as well as affect participation in sacraments such as eucharist and reconciliation. Spiritual traditions often promote the embracing of silence, but this may be problematic for survivors who have been silenced and unable to give expression to their experiences. Similarly, socialization resulting in beliefs that Christians should always forgive and/or never be angry needs to be overcome. While negotiating these pitfalls may result in explorations of spirituality being even less straightforward for survivors of sexual abuse than it is for others, a transformative spirituality within a Christian framework can be realized.

The development of CBT programmes for anger : the role of interventions to promote perspective-taking skills

Although the emotion of anger has, in recent years, been the subject of increasing theoretical analysis, there are relatively few accounts of how interventions designed to reduce problematic anger might be related to cognitively oriented theories of emotion. In this review of the literature we describe how a cognitive-behavioural approach to the treatment of those with anger-related problems might be understood in relation to conceptualizations of anger from a cognitive perspective. Three additional interventions (visual feedback, chair-work, forgiveness therapy) are identified that aim to improve the perspective-taking skills of angry clients. It is concluded that such interventions might be considered for use within the context of cognitive-behavioural treatment.

Making meaning from collective apologies : Australia's apology to its indigenous peoples

This article considers the meaning of intergroup apologies for their recipients. Our research examined Indigenous people’s responses to the 2008 Australian apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples forcibly removed from their families under previous governments (the Stolen Generations). We interviewed Indigenous men (n=10) and women (n=22) about their attitudes toward the apology and forgiveness. To cover the breadth of Indigenous responses to the Australian apology, we sought out participants from diverse geographic, cultural, and occupational contexts across Australia. After pooling the transcripts and entering them into NVivo, we identified key concepts and themes. Participants expressed positive, negative, and mixed views toward the apology and forgiveness. A dominant theme emerged as participants indicated that for the apology to be truly meaningful, there needed to be action commensurate with the emotion of the apology. Though participants indicated that the apology promoted reconciliation, this was not true for forgiveness. We conclude by discussing implications of these findings for theoretical models of intergroup apology.

Religious/spiritual well-being, coping styles and personality dimensions in people with substance use disorders

Religiosity and spirituality have been found to be negatively associated with a range of addictions. It has been suggested that religious/spiritual well-being might play an important role in the development, course and the recovery from addictive disorders. A sample of addiction in-patients (n=389) was assessed using the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB) and compared with a matched group of non-addicted community controls (n=389). RSWB was found to be substantially lower in people with substance use disorders compared to the normal sample. Discriminate functional analysis showed that Experiences of Sense and Meaning, General Religiosity and Forgiveness were the dimensions of RSWB which strongly distinguished the groups. Within the group of people with substance use disorders, RSWB was strongly positively associated with the personality dimensions of Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Openness as well as Sense of Coherence and positive Coping styles. The study suggests that therapeutic intervention programs focusing on building a positive and meaningful personal framework, akin to that of a religious/spiritual orientation, may contribute to positive outcomes in addiction treatment.

Religios/spirituelles befinden bei psychisch kranken: Angstlich/depressive und suchtkranke im vergleich zu gesunden kontrollpersonen

Objective
The aim of this study is to investigate different dimensions of religiosity and spirituality among psychiatric in-patients. The study examines differences between addictive (ICD 10: F1x) and anxious/depressive (ICD 10: F3x/F4x) patients and considers the main implications for treatment.

Method
Differences in dimensions of religious/spiritual well-being (RSWB) between addictive (n = 389) and anxious/depressive patients (n = 200) are investigated, also by comparison to a control group (n = 1,500). Furthermore dimensions of RSWB are related to personality factors and different psychiatric parameters within the psychiatric groups.

Results
The psychiatric groups show a lower amount of overall RSWB (p < 0.001) than the healthy controls. Furthermore, dimensions of RSWB turned out to be negatively correlated with several psychiatric symptoms.

Conclusions
Based on these results we emphasize religious/spiritual issues within psychiatric treatment. Moreover, there may be a strong potential of the RSWB dimensions such as “Hope” or “Forgiveness” as positive therapeutic factors in psychiatric treatment.

Dimensions of religious/spiritual well-being in relation to personality and stress coping: initial results from Bosnian young adults

The aim of this study was to examine possible relationships between religious/spiritual well-being (RSWB), the Big Five personality factors, and stress coping strategies among Bosnian young adults. Therefore, a first Bosnian translation of the Multidimensional Inventory of Religious/Spiritual Well-being was applied on a sample of 290 (181 females) Bosnian undergraduate students. RSWB dimensions such as hope, forgiveness, or general religiosity were found to be substantially related with more favorable personality dimensions as well as with more adequate stress coping. As a conclusion RSWB dimensions were confirmed as being an important resource for mental health for this sample of Bosnian adolescents.