Forgiveness as a Mediator Between Post Divorce Cognitive Processes and Coparenting Quality

Abstract

This study investigated the mediating role of forgiveness between the predictor variables of causal attributions and offense severity judgments and the outcome variable, quality coparenting post divorce. A mailed survey sent to a sample of 585 separated/divorced parents with minor aged children who had attended a brief educational seminar resulted in a final sample of 135 respondents.

The significant negative relationship between cause attributed to the former partner (r = -.28, p < .01) and quality coparenting became nonsignificant (Beta = -.06, p = .50) when forgiveness was introduced. The results also indicated that greater forgiveness was negatively related to cause attributed to the former partner (r = -.34, p < .001) and less severe offense judgments (r = -.22, p < .01). A strong positive relationship was found between forgiveness and quality coparenting (r = .53, p < .001).

The results have implications for practice, advocacy, and education. Forgiveness represents one potentially useful focus of intervention for making a transition towards a quality coparenting relationship.

Key Words:

• Divorce
• post-divorce
• co-parenting
• forgiveness and divorce