Social Networks and Forgiveness: The Role of Trust and Efficacy

Abstract

We examine the link between social network size and forgiveness, as well as mediating effects of self-efficacy and trust. Data are from the Detroit Community Study, which include three racial/ethnic groups: African Americans, Arab Americans, and White Americans (N=907). Results indicated that larger network size is associated with more forgiveness, but is mediated by trust. Patterns varied within racial/ethnic group: among Arab Americans self-efficacy mediated the effect of network size on forgiveness; among African Americans there were no direct or mediating effects; among White Americans an indirect effect of trust on forgiveness was identified. Findings suggest complex associations with forgiveness.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Angela Turkelson for her assistance with data analysis.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a grant from John Templeton Foundation (55895).