New research reveals that forgiveness affects levels of depression later in life, but its influence on men and women is different.
Forgiveness is arguably one of the most complex processes known to man. Whether you’re doing the forgiving or asking for forgiveness, it can be a painful task. Since it’s an issue loaded with uncertainty, angst, and sadness, researchers at the University of Missouri College of Human Environmental Sciences studied how the facets of forgiveness affects older adults’ feelings of depression, unearthing surprising conclusions about how the emotional process affects the sexes differently.
Interestingly, the researchers found that older women who forgave others were less likely to report depressive symptoms even if they felt unforgiven by others in their lives. Older men, on the other hand, reported the highest levels of depression when they both forgave others and felt unforgiven by others.
SEE ALSO: Who Tolerates Pain Best — Men or Women?
In a press release, study co-author Christine Proulx, an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, said, “It doesn’t feel good when we perceive that others haven’t forgiven us for something. When we think about forgiveness and characteristics of people who are forgiving — altruistic, compassionate, empathetic — these people forgive others and seem to compensate for the fact that others aren’t forgiving them.” Particularly for the women in the study.
The study analyzed data from the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, which is a national survey that accounts for over 1,000 adults over the age of 67. Participants answered questions about their religion, health, and psychological well-being.
Lead study author Ashley Ermer, a doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, said, “As people get older, they become more forgiving.” She that the study participants were also predominantly Christian, which could have influenced individual willingness to forgive. People with other beliefs might function differently.
However, studying forgiveness among the elderly as opposed to the young played an important role in the research since older individuals tend to reflect on their lives, particularly their relationships and transgressions. Since they’ve been faced with more personal experiences than the young population, their reflections on their own mistakes as well as the mistakes of their wrongdoers provided a more profound understanding of forgiveness for the study.
A surprising conclusion from the study was that forgiving oneself didn’t significantly reduce levels of depression later in life. "Self-forgiveness didn't act as the protector against depression," Proulx said. "It's really about whether individuals can forgive other people and their willingness to forgive others.”
Most importantly, the researchers say the results of the study may help counselors who work with older aged people develop gender-appropriate interventions since men and women process forgiveness differently. More and more current research is highlighting the stark psychological differences between the sexes, and one study at Northwestern University even discovered that males and females may require different medicines due to molecular differences in their brains.
Undoubtedly, forgiveness is an emotional process that takes time, and there’s no universal answer on how to cure the pain it can leave behind. But hopefully the results of this study inspire psychologists and therapists to take a deeper look into the different effects it has on men and women in order to develop gender-specific treatments.
Facebook comments